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I had a similar issue a few years ago when someone from Asia had modified and resold my ecommerce application for years as his own. I lost at least $50,000 in s
by mmcconnell1618 14y ago
I had a similar issue a few years ago when someone from Asia had modified and resold my ecommerce application for years as his own. I lost at least $50,000 in sales to US customers who purchased this guy's copy of my software.
The big problem that I ran into is the cost to litigate international issues. I contacted a bunch of law firms and they all pretty much said it would be a six-figure cost to pursue any international action and the hopes of collecting would be almost zero. Fortunately, the copying was so blatant that I didn't have a problem getting the US web host to pull down his site.
Partially as a result of the incident I decided to open-source the code base. Other than locking up the code in a SaaS platform there isn't a 100% foolproof way to protect IP so why not embrace the copying and build a business model around reality.
- shiftpgdn 14y agoI know it's a bit late to suggest this but for future reference you could have always followed the VBulletin model of sending DMCA/Legal threats to people who purchase the bootlegged software. I realize this doesn't make you any friends but if enough of those customers disputed the charges with the person who had stolen your software you may have been able to put him out of business.
- mmcconnell1618 14y agoI actually contacted most of them because the software was sold in a small community. I offered them immunity from legal threats in exchange for registering with me so that I knew how many people had purchased. The plan is to sell them official upgrades as their current unsupported versions become outdated. Thanks for the suggestion.