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That completely sucks. I can't believe that some company thinks they're entitled to what a developer built in his spare time, using no company resources (assum

That completely sucks. I can't believe that some company thinks they're entitled to what a developer built in his spare time, using no company resources (assuming that's the case, of course). Fuck being owned by some piece of shit corporate machine. I feel like I read somewhere that these types of agreements are usually not enforceable in California, but Freewebs looks like they're headquartered in Maryland (though SGN is in CA), so it might depend on where he was working when this occurred. Regardless, it sounds like bullshit. Hope he fights and wins.

snorkel 18y ago
I predict SGN doesn't want the application but is instead looking for an out of court settlement to grab a piece of the pie.
- ryanwaggoner 18y ago
  It comes down to petty greed. But it's even worse than greed. It's unbridled greed with no integrity whatsoever. Why build something solid that adds value when you can steal it from someone else who toiled and risked to do so?
gojomo 18y ago
There are too few details to judge yet in Maestri's favor. Developers don't clock in-and-out 9-5, and there are many ways Mob Wars (hereafter MW) development may have appropriated Freewebs' resources. All of this is rhetorical speculation; I have no details beyond what's in the VentureBeat article: What if MW-developer had a company-issued laptop, and did Mob Wars development on that laptop in off hours? What if MW-developer answered support emails or forum posts for Mob Wars from the Freewebs office? What if a few lines of trivial boilerplate code are the same in Mob Wars as earlier Freewebs work, by MW-developer or other Freewebs employees? What if those lines are arguably not trivial boilerplate code but rather clever optimizations? What if Mob Wars is substantially similar to undeveloped-but-planned concepts discussed while at Freewebs by MW-developer and others?

snorkel 18y ago

I predict SGN doesn't want the application but is instead looking for an out of court settlement to grab a piece of the pie.

ryanwaggoner 18y ago
It comes down to petty greed. But it's even worse than greed. It's unbridled greed with no integrity whatsoever. Why build something solid that adds value when you can steal it from someone else who toiled and risked to do so?

gojomo 18y ago

There are too few details to judge yet in Maestri's favor. Developers don't clock in-and-out 9-5, and there are many ways Mob Wars (hereafter MW) development may have appropriated Freewebs' resources. All of this is rhetorical speculation; I have no details beyond what's in the VentureBeat article: What if MW-developer had a company-issued laptop, and did Mob Wars development on that laptop in off hours? What if MW-developer answered support emails or forum posts for Mob Wars from the Freewebs office? What if a few lines of trivial boilerplate code are the same in Mob Wars as earlier Freewebs work, by MW-developer or other Freewebs employees? What if those lines are arguably not trivial boilerplate code but rather clever optimizations? What if Mob Wars is substantially similar to undeveloped-but-planned concepts discussed while at Freewebs by MW-developer and others?