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by morgante 4151 days ago
He released the IP under an open source license.

Litigating this is both foolhardy and an uphill battle. Even if he can prove that they weren't giving proper credit, it's extremely hard to prove damages when there is an open source license.
1 comments
jdawg77 4151 days ago
Proving damages, with open source on the backs of funding, is relatively easy for an attorney with startup experienc, knows how much it costs to build a brand + reputation, etc. Then you can put together a financial model on, "Opportunity cost," re-coup it in a civil case, on top of and after the criminal case is finished. A good law firm will file both separately.

Nice, though, for crapping on his chances. I love the positive thinking.

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morgante 4151 days ago
What criminal case?

They have every right to use his software. Under the Apache license, they typically don't even have to publicly admit to using it.

Their only fault is likely glossing over the exact details of what code they wrote and what code they licensed, and even that only in private with investors.

I just don't see how there's any sort of case here. They haven't infringed on any IP.

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task_queue 4151 days ago
Certainly not criminal. The Apache license has stipulations for attribution, if someone is claiming your copyrighted work as their own and stripping attributions to attain funds then it could be argued that the code was distributed among them against the license and with the intention of violating it for financial gain.
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morgante 4151 days ago
> and forgot to remove the links to my site

Sounds like attributions are intact. The startup might be misrepresenting things to investors in conversations, but if the actual code attribution is in place then it'd be very difficult to prove a violation of the license.

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jdawg77 4151 days ago
So, thanks for the downvote. I had a suspicion, given the venom, then reviewed your LinkedIn profile.

Before saying, "There is no criminal case," review some facts - and the legal aspects of state vs nation in the US of A. If a law passes in say, New York - it doesn't impact people in my home state of California. It can be used as precedent...but, seriously.

I've gone toe to toe with multiple governments about their own legal system and Neither of us is a lawyer...right? Right. So, as I mentioned, get somebody qualified, pursue both sets of charges. Financial fraud and racketeering, given the nature of the issue (VC funding) are Federal, not State, issues.

Wow. Please, please next time if it's legal, you're not a lawyer and have zero experience...let the adults talk who have been there. My 14 year old knows the American legal system better, who hasn't lived here two years, and holds multiple passports.

What's your excuse again?

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charlesdm 4151 days ago
How could he even prove that?

Why would an investor, who has potentially invested money in this venture, hand over evidence like that?

I'd assume they'd just attribute him in the future (in some obscure corner of their product/website), and be done with it.

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task_queue 4151 days ago
An investor associated with that venture went out of his way to spill the beans and probably would hand it over unknowingly if asked nicely.

But I agree with your conclusion.

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