Code theft. Regaining control? - Developers

I've been working on a chat app project as just a joke. Its theme is connecting the cliche lonely cat woman with similar people. When I got to a state where it was functional I included a partner so I could do some bug testing... he took my code, slapped on some new styling and presented it as his own. It's steadily gaining popularity. He also is going to register the trademark. How do I combat this? I have a github repository predating his release that contains the exact code he's using. I'm in shock that someone I trusted would do this without a thought. I know not to trust faceless entities but this is someone I thought was a friend who I see every day. If you've run into a scenario like this before, what did you do? What can I do to concrete my claim?

The way I see it, you have two options. The first is to send him a cease and desist, threatening further litigation if he continues. The other is to track him down and dismember him with a sword.

[QUOTE=Uberslug;48709422]The way I see it, you have two options. The first is to send him a cease and desist, threatening further litigation if he continues. The other is to track him down and dismember him with a sword.[/QUOTE] I'm concerned about ruining a perfectly good sword. There's a lot of adipose tissue to get through. Thanks though seriously that's perfectly professional and avoids immediate legal action. Just not thinking about this straight since it's a first time and fresh wound. Is the github repository any sort of 'proof' legally?

I don't know, since I'm not a lawyer. You might want to talk to one depending on how far you want to pursue this, but there's a good chance he'll stop just from the threat. Good luck! Hopefully someone else knows more than I do.

On it! Hopefully this doesn't escalate. Thread can be closed due to sage advice.

Do you still see him every day? I'm kind of interested in the drama behind this now...

i'd love to stay updated with the legal happenings of this case these insights into your process and the responses you are met with are valuable [editline]18th September 2015[/editline] (pls no lock)

If you're still reading this: I don't think it's a good idea to do anything without a lawyer here, including sending a C&D.

[QUOTE=DrMonumbo;48709380]I've been working on a chat app project as just a joke. Its theme is connecting the cliche lonely cat woman with similar people. When I got to a state where it was functional I included a partner so I could do some bug testing... he took my code, slapped on some new styling and presented it as his own. It's steadily gaining popularity. He also is going to register the trademark. How do I combat this? I have a github repository predating his release that contains the exact code he's using. I'm in shock that someone I trusted would do this without a thought. I know not to trust faceless entities but this is someone I thought was a friend who I see every day. If you've run into a scenario like this before, what did you do? What can I do to concrete my claim?[/QUOTE] Fucked up shit man. You have original code and evidences you worked together, so get lawyer ASAP.

[QUOTE=Uberslug;48709422]The way I see it, you have two options. The first is to send him a cease and desist, threatening further litigation if he continues. The other is to track him down and dismember him with a sword.[/QUOTE] I like the second option and it's a lot simpler than doing all the other shit mostly because you don't have to wait for an answer. Just get some other friends that won't betray you and break his stuff until he gives your app back. I know at first it sounds really stupid and all but I am pretty sure getting a lawyer won't be cheap.

[QUOTE=BoowmanTech;48710593]I like the second option and it's a lot simpler than doing all the other shit mostly because you don't have to wait for an answer. Just get some other friends that won't betray you and break his stuff until he gives your app back. I know at first it sounds really stupid and all but I am pretty sure getting a lawyer won't be cheap.[/QUOTE] This tends to work wonders. Just better idea: Before you break shit, just login into his accounts for everything: Facebook, GitHub etc etc, find his bussines contacts and info, delete all project folders, delete code, shutdown hosting and website and so on. Or bring contract with you where when he signs, all stuff is again yours.

By the way did he wrote any code or he only did bug testing? Cause you could prove somethinf like he doesn't know the code the way you do.

[QUOTE=BoowmanTech;48713583]By the way did he wrote any code or he only did bug testing? Cause you could prove somethinf like he doesn't know the code the way you do.[/QUOTE] The upload dates on github should be enough evidence, all IP is protected by default.

C&D sent this morning with oversight from my lawyer (A friend, thank jebus). He immediately backed down, apologized, and as far as I can see has halted all work with my app. It's also known now within our circles what he did (with github repository evidence) so no one else is going to trust him any time soon. I'll still be seeing him everyday, but he's definitely in the acquaintance category for eternity. Sorry this thread wont be of much help to anyone who has to deal with someone more incorrigible or considering an actual legal case. It seems like swift action corrected this mess more than anything. Because of my close contact with this person I knew exactly what he was doing but unfortunately that's not always the case. Don't give someone time to start believing what was yours is now their property. Also someone asked what he was included for. It was just to test client-server communication but he ended up "creating" his own version AKA he swapped one image, the color scheme, and added a login function (it was designed as an anonymous chat app, "Anonymous" is even part of its acronym).

Good.

one thing left to do: trademark it yourself and see if it surprisingly goes places

Personally if your app isn't potentially worth money, I would probably think it not worth pursuing legal action. If that is the case, I would say just to cut ties with this pretend friend and cough it up as a learning lession. If he is making money off the code you wrote, I would say that you have a good shot at getting a piece of the action he's taking.

Isn't this a thing now? Grab someone's code, sell it as your own, then walk away when they tell you to stop=PROFIT! How many of them are going to go to the trouble of suing you for that relatively small amount of money? Probably none. But on the other hand, if you do this multiple times then for you the money adds up.

If you have a public GitHub repository but put no license.txt in, is there a license that it would legally default to, or is it then public domain and as long as I don't say 'its my code' I can legally use it for whatever?

[QUOTE=DrMonumbo;48714760]C&D sent this morning with oversight from my lawyer (A friend, thank jebus). He immediately backed down, apologized, and as far as I can see has halted all work with my app. It's also known now within our circles what he did (with github repository evidence) so no one else is going to trust him any time soon. I'll still be seeing him everyday, but he's definitely in the acquaintance category for eternity. Sorry this thread wont be of much help to anyone who has to deal with someone more incorrigible or considering an actual legal case. It seems like swift action corrected this mess more than anything. Because of my close contact with this person I knew exactly what he was doing but unfortunately that's not always the case. Don't give someone time to start believing what was yours is now their property. Also someone asked what he was included for. It was just to test client-server communication but he ended up "creating" his own version AKA he swapped one image, the color scheme, and added a login function (it was designed as an anonymous chat app, "Anonymous" is even part of its acronym).[/QUOTE] I can't imagine how awful I would feel if everyone felt I steal code I'd talk to someone about coding and they would tell me to "Fuck off, fucking theif" immediately even if its my own code

[QUOTE=Capsup;48723388]If you have a public GitHub repository but put no license.txt in, is there a license that it would legally default to, or is it then public domain and as long as I don't say 'its my code' I can legally use it for whatever?[/QUOTE] [URL="https://help.github.com/articles/open-source-licensing/#what-happens-if-i-dont-choose-a-license"]Generally speaking, the absence of a license means that the default copyright laws apply. This means that you retain all rights to your source code and that nobody else may reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from your work.[/URL]

Rule #1: proguard is your friend (I'm assuming it's an android app). In all seriousness, though, [b]I feel your pain[/b]. I hate traffic/hit/view/code hijackers. They are the scum of the cyberworld that can't make anything nice for themselves; they steal other peoples' shit. The herd needs immediate culling. The sad reality is that unless you file a civil suit, there's no other way. The fact that people don't want to spend money on lawyers is the exact fact that these cunts take advantage of. [QUOTE=anthonywolfe;48724790][URL="https://help.github.com/articles/open-source-licensing/#what-happens-if-i-dont-choose-a-license"]Generally speaking, the absence of a license means that the default copyright laws apply. This means that you retain all rights to your source code and that nobody else may reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from your work.[/URL][/QUOTE] Back in the day, when I asked my compsci teacher about the default copyright on code, he said the exact same thing ^. So amen to that, as far as I know.

[QUOTE=KD007;48776582][...] Back in the day, when I asked my compsci teacher about the default copyright on code, he said the exact same thing ^. So amen to that, as far as I know.[/QUOTE] Considering how obvious that is if you know that you can only legally [i]grant[/i] rights to others unless you're "the government" in some form or other, I'm not really sure how anyone could come to a different conclusion :v: As long as you as creator live in a country that has property rights (so any non-communist one, and a few communist ones too), this applies worldwide. Even countries where this isn't the case can't use your code on the international market except among themselves, so if a government stole your [i]Amazing New App™[/i] you could still DMCA it off any US sites no problem and use less streamlined procedures elsewhere. Having legal insurance certainly helps to avoid costs even if it's extremely clear-cut though, if you have to do more than send a DMCA. Normally your lawyer can bill the offending party, but there's always a chance they'll skip out on the payment especially if it's an international issue.

[QUOTE=DrMonumbo;48709380]I've been working on a chat app project as just a joke. Its theme is connecting the cliche lonely cat woman with similar people. When I got to a state where it was functional I included a partner so I could do some bug testing... he took my code, slapped on some new styling and presented it as his own. It's steadily gaining popularity. He also is going to register the trademark. How do I combat this? I have a github repository predating his release that contains the exact code he's using. I'm in shock that someone I trusted would do this without a thought. I know not to trust faceless entities but this is someone I thought was a friend who I see every day. If you've run into a scenario like this before, what did you do? What can I do to concrete my claim?[/QUOTE] If you'r angry about this I was part of DayZ when it first started the concept and everything behind it. So I get back on my computer and see they are standalone now. I tried emailing dean he ignored me I tried using the old repository and they changed it or don't use it anymore. I wasn't wanting money I was just wanting to help continue the project....