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Daniel Micay got paid for his services, and therefore the copyright is assigned to the company behind CopperheadOS If he was an employee, but if he was paid as

Daniel Micay got paid for his services, and therefore the copyright is assigned to the company behind CopperheadOS If he was an employee, but if he was paid as a 1099 and no assignment of IP agreement was signed, it is his. Additionally, if it was a "derivative work" of code he had written prior to W-2 employment, that would also muddy the waters of IP ownership.

temprature 8y ago
Copperhead is based in Canada but you appear to be citing US law.
- gm-conspiracy 8y ago
  Yes, US law, I am ignorant of Canadian IP law as it relates to employees and contractors.
  - sbarre 8y ago
    It sounds like they were both shareholders in the company but neither signed an actual employment agreement. So they weren't contractors or employees, which makes this a giant mess to sort through. Source: Almost 10 years ago I was in a situation that was shockingly similar to Daniel's.
    - richardhod 8y ago
      Can you tell how it was and how it was resolved, and what you'd do differently if it happened again, if you would?
      - sbarre 8y ago
        Ugh there's so much circumstance and context I would have to preface with, but in the end when we decided we couldn't work together anymore (after almost 3 years), we came up with 2 options: Either one of us buys the other out, or we dissolve the business. He chose to buy me out and attempt to keep going, but the company folded less than a year after I left. It wasn't quite a messy as this situation seems to be, but it was rough, as both of us had basically put everything we had into the business. 2-person startups are kind of platonic marriages, and as such splitting up is basically getting a divorce (at least in terms of mental stress). edit: to answer your "what would I do differently" question, absolutely insist on getting a lawyer up front to draft all the paperwork and employment agreements (we didn't do this because it seemed so expensive).

temprature 8y ago

Copperhead is based in Canada but you appear to be citing US law.

gm-conspiracy 8y ago
Yes, US law, I am ignorant of Canadian IP law as it relates to employees and contractors.
- sbarre 8y ago
  It sounds like they were both shareholders in the company but neither signed an actual employment agreement. So they weren't contractors or employees, which makes this a giant mess to sort through. Source: Almost 10 years ago I was in a situation that was shockingly similar to Daniel's.
  - richardhod 8y ago
    Can you tell how it was and how it was resolved, and what you'd do differently if it happened again, if you would?
    - sbarre 8y ago
      Ugh there's so much circumstance and context I would have to preface with, but in the end when we decided we couldn't work together anymore (after almost 3 years), we came up with 2 options: Either one of us buys the other out, or we dissolve the business. He chose to buy me out and attempt to keep going, but the company folded less than a year after I left. It wasn't quite a messy as this situation seems to be, but it was rough, as both of us had basically put everything we had into the business. 2-person startups are kind of platonic marriages, and as such splitting up is basically getting a divorce (at least in terms of mental stress). edit: to answer your "what would I do differently" question, absolutely insist on getting a lawyer up front to draft all the paperwork and employment agreements (we didn't do this because it seemed so expensive).