[7Figures2Commas]

Per my comment, they don't. But the rest of the comment I was responding to ("he'll send them a sternly written letter", "your lawyer will have a lot of fun with a newly rich entity which desires to commit to the position on paper that it has stolen your IP") is pure speculation based on assumption.

Folks should stick to "find a lawyer" and leave it at that.

[tptacek]

Disagree. Some of us have actually done the "find a lawyer thing" in various circumstances and seen what happened. Where it's possible to share details, it's helpful, and so we do.

[7Figures2Commas]

My SO is a litigator. Based on the stories I hear all the time, I can state with absolute confidence that the sharing you refer to here, which consists primarily of non-attorneys making assumptions and engaging in speculation, is not only unlikely to help the OP but could be detrimental to him if he acts based on the information he received from a non-attorney (or even an attorney who has not agreed to represent him).

Your own past experiences with attorneys are irrelevant here and do not eliminate the fact that nobody can use HN to provide the OP with the legal counsel he clearly needs. The simple truth of the matter is that the OP is unlikely to find a satisfactory resolution to this matter without the help of a competent attorney.

[tptacek]

That was a very forceful argument for something Patrick had already said.