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If a public company open-sources something (as Uber has done on occasion) that gives them a competitive advantage, could they be sued by shareholders for giving
by akeck 7y ago
If a public company open-sources something (as Uber has done on occasion) that gives them a competitive advantage, could they be sued by shareholders for giving away something valuable?
- _delirium 7y agoNot successfully unless there's a smoking-gun type thing, like someone involved in the decisions having a clear conflict of interest with a different company they own. Courts generally won't second-guess business decisions, and if Uber says something like "we open-sourced this to build goodwill", a court is going to say fine, weighing the pros and cons of that strategy is their call, and if shareholders disagree with the strategy, they can elect a different board.