The MBA student you're speaking of wasn't nearly as shrewd as you make him or her out to be. If you are the sole author of the code in question, as a general ru

The MBA student you're speaking of wasn't nearly as shrewd as you make him or her out to be. If you are the sole author of the code in question, as a general rule, the intellectual property rights associated it inured to your benefit the minute you created the code. Absent a written agreement containing a work-for-hire and/or assignment clause (for good measure, it's common to see both), your piranha may have no teeth as far as asserting ownership over what you created. As for your comment about "rules are used against you before you know you're playing": regardless of role (technical, non-technical, etc.), everyone in this industry should educate himself or herself on the basics of IP and contract law, as well as the relevant areas of finance and tax. There are a ton of free high-quality resources online, so there's really no excuse not to get up to speed. The really good news is that in most cases, the shysters you're likely to encounter are not much more knowledgeable than the people they prey on, so a little bit of knowledge can offer a lot of protection.