Tech giant Google is being sued by 3D design software company Autodesk over claims it impinged on its ‘Flow’ trademark.
The federal lawsuit filed last Friday in San Francisco, claims that Google used the brand name ‘Flow’ to promote its own AI-powered video creation tools to TV, film and video game audiences.
Autodesk is primarily a computer-aided design software company with a focus on AI and cloud software.
The firm said that ‘Flow’, which it trademarked, is a cloud-based visual effects and production management tool for the Media and Entertainment industry, and the company was shocked to find out Google launched its own software by the same name for a similar audience.
Google launched Flow, an AI filmmaking platform for creators and filmmakers, in May 2025. The tool integrates Google’s AI models, including its video generation tool Veo, its image generation tool Imagen, and its large language model (LLM) Gemini.
The lawsuit claims Google said it would not promote Flow on its own, however continued to promote the tool at major events.
Damages to Autodesk
The suit also claims that Google later applied for the name to be trademarked in the Kingdom of Tonga – a country in the Oceania – which Autodesk says is a tactic often used to discretely obtain intellectual property without scrutiny.
Autodesk claims considering Google’s size, it could seriously impact its own Flow tool and business. As such, Autodesk is seeking compensation for damages, claiming the company has already faced permanent issues as a result. Autodesk recently announced it would be letting go of 1,000 employees in a spending shift.
Autodesk has a valuation of $51 billion compared with Google’s $3.9 trillion.
Google’s launch of Flow came amid intensifying competition in AI-generated video, with rivals including OpenAI, Runway and Adobe racing to secure partnerships with studios and creators. The company has been positioning its AI models as professional-grade tools capable of producing cinematic-quality content.
