Yesterday in an exclusive interview, WorldCAD Access spoke with CADopia CEO Surya Sarda to hear the other story. Most of his startling story was, however, on background and so cannot be revealed here. Here's what I can make public:
Mr Sarda tells me that he disputes the amount owed, especially in light of receiving "not a penny" compensation for the three years he was ITC president and two years as ITC's development manager. In addition, he was never refunded the loan he made to the organization in its early days.
CADopia sales faltered after the ITC prevented him from accessing recent updates to IntelliCAD. He hopes instead to work towards a resolution through the arbitration clause of the ITC membership agreement.
Both sides owe each other, he reckons, and so "a mutually beneficial solution can be found," he affirms.
"I have invested ten years of my life in IntelliCAD, and I do not want to walk away from it now."
'Mr Sarda tells me that he disputes the amount owed, especially in light of receiving "not a penny" compensation for the three years he was ITC president and two years as ITC's development manager.'
Interesting long story I am sure, but I somehow find it hard to believe anyone would work that long for anybody and not get paid. What contracts can the "other side" produce to justify recent behaviours? Looking forward to deposition..
Posted by: B Decker | Nov 16, 2009 at 04:15 AM
Interesting.... I have been a long time advocate of Intellicad and in particular CADopias version of it.
It will be interesting to see how things turn out. Hopefully a mutually agreeable solution can be found.
Posted by: MJ | Nov 17, 2009 at 12:32 PM
I have been the Treasurer of the ITC since 2006 and can confirm some simple facts.
CADopia failed to pay its 2008 membership in full and has paid zero towards its 2009 membership fees. After numerous failed attempts to collect the outstanding fees, the ITC Board of Directors took action and terminated CADopia's membership.
CADopia no longer has the right to sell products based on technology owned by the ITC. It is not that complicated. The ITC would not have started this action unless it had exhausted all other options.
The claims that Surya is making for payment for positions held in the past will not get very far, because at the time they were voluntary positions (unpaid) - as is the position that I now hold as Treasurer. He is trying to create a smoke screen to hide the fact that he did not pay his membership fees.
We are in a tough recession, and it is difficult for many companies. The ITC would have much preferred that CADopia had paid its membership fees and remained a member. Unfortunately it is completely unfair if some members are selling IntelliCAD without paying the membership fees while the others are paid in full.
In 2010 the ITC will be releasing the much awaited, complete rewrite of IntelliCAD. It is unfortunate that CADopia will miss this opportunity after so many years of membership.
Posted by: Darcy Detlor | Nov 19, 2009 at 05:55 PM
Am I right in thinking that CADopia are now no more? Their website is gone, their forums have been dead for the last few years bar a question from a user or two.
It is a pity, in its prime, the CADopia forum was a hive of activity and ingenuity as users created add ons, lisp routines ad so on to make CADopia a viable work tool.
To this day, I still have CADopia Pro 8 installed on my laptop. I guess I will be upgrading to some other version now.
Posted by: MJ | Apr 12, 2010 at 02:24 AM
CADopia is not dead, but is trying to regain its right to sell its software.
Posted by: Ralph Grabowski | Apr 12, 2010 at 03:33 AM
Thats good to hear, hopefully they can get through this and get back on track.
Posted by: MJ | Apr 13, 2010 at 02:48 AM
Hello. They have no "right".
The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC) has successfully obtained a judgment against CADopia, Inc. for approximately $100,000 in past due membership fees and legal costs, plus a court injunction prohibiting CADopia from illegally using the IntelliCAD source code and Trademarks. http://www.intellicad.org/articles-and-press-releases/bid/27545/The-IntelliCAD-Technology-Consortium-Obtains-Judgment-Against-CADopia
CADopia's ongoing "claims" are invalid, their software is illegal, 'nuff said.
Posted by: CADDIT | May 02, 2010 at 08:22 PM