Autodesk VS ODA – Compromise or Knock-Out

Randall Newton’s blow-by-blow coverage of the Autodesk-ODA legal fight at AECnews.com is truly commendable. The latest article gives us an idea of where things may be headed. The article ends with:

As ODA and Autodesk prepare for the January hearing, there may be some efforts to negotiate a truce. Edelson [the ODA attorney] had proposed to the court that a more neutral pop-up, one that identified a file as non-Autodesk-generated without dire warnings, could be an acceptable solution. “Let’s keep the lines open” he said to Jacobs [the Autodesk attorney] as they prepared to leave the courtroom.

Since the ODA went ahead and incorporated the TrustedDWG feature in their DWGdirect libraries, I assumed that they had already built a strong legal case in the event of a law suit. After reading the ODA reply to the initial complaint it does not appear to be the case. Their reply sounded more like their views described on their web site. Views which a majority of CAD software users may agree to, but which do not mean much in a court of law.

With the judge virtually throwing all their arguments out of the window, the ODA now finds itself with it’s back against the ropes. Throwing in the towel at this stage may be the wise thing to do. In any case, it doesn’t look like Autodesk is in the mood of showing any mercy. Maybe this was what they were waiting for all along.