[mikeshreds]

Yeah, I hear you, hindsight 20-20.

It was Mark's manager John Shimmin who made that request. John is a great guy, and Mark had (still has?) a great relationship with him. He genuinely wanted to help Shimmin, and did so faithfully for weeks.

It's not fair to pin this on Mark and dismiss it with a "rookie move dude." Mark (and I) had no idea that facts could be twisted and ignored to create this kind of legal conflict. A lot of people operate under the guileless belief that if they help someone, that person/entity will not screw them. Mark is one of those people.

[dandanisaur]

Unfortunately, the 'rookie move' is a fair assumption. Even if there was a small possibility of conflict: Your IP is your company and these things should have been covered.

It's a sad lesson and an emotional mistake. You didn't owe the employer/managers anything and should have cut all ties to the company especially since these projects are somewhat related.

You are both good guys for wanting to help out and it sucks that things got twisted up. I hope things work out well and I wish you all the best.