My programmer steals my idea

[Donners]

So I had a good idea for a script.. And I hired a programmer to do the job.

Now it turns out he stole the idea and created his own competing website with the script he made.

How can you deal with situations like these?

[seeandsee]

Search how Facebook was created

[Fucksakes]

happened to me many times.. whats new.

how to deal with it.. learn to code yourself.

[k0nr4d]

non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

[MrAwesome]

hunt him down

[CurrentlySober]

kick him in the tits and stal his mrs...

[Smooth J.]

You got owned.

[pornguy]

non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

And a shotgun.

[acctman]

So I had a good idea for a script.. And I hired a programmer to do the job.

Now it turns out he stole the idea and created his own competing website with the script he made.

How can you deal with situations like these?

that happens all the time. I personally never give a programmer complete access to a site or an entire project. I only give pieces of it, I know enough basic php to put things together in the end. Also, use multiple programmers if you can.

i had one programmer once he saw the complete project and site, he message me asking can he view the backend and see how everything works. of course I said no, late found out some contacted him about creating a site script similar to mine.

[sortie]

So I had a good idea for a script.. And I hired a programmer to do the job.

Now it turns out he stole the idea and created his own competing website with the script he made.

How can you deal with situations like these?

You fucked up.

He created the code and can copyright it and sue you for using it.
You created an idea but, as I understand copyright law, you can't copyright a idea.
Only the expression of the idea can be copyrighted and
the script is the expression of your idea.

Solution :

Make complete specifications along with flow charts showing the full process to be
performed. Use pseudo code and be detailed and exact like :

open user file by user name
read user file
extract last name and birth date
add 85 to birth year to get policy end date.
etc...

Now you can copyright you specs and pseudo code.
Also make a short contract specifying "This is a work for hire".
Work for hire means by law the programmer has no copyright
claims to the work he did.

Of course you can skip all that by hiring someone who is trustworthy.

[acctman]

non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

unfortunately those dont work. they know you're more than likely not going to sue, and most programmers that are hired are in other sites and even countries. And proof of legal name and address is another issue. Best bet would be to go with a real established company that will probably charge you 10times as much but you get the security and piece of mind knowing you stuff won't be stolen.

[d-null]

not enough time in the day to do everything and learn to program well, but it seems it is necessary...

[acctman]

You fucked up.

He created the code and can copyright it and sue you for using it.
You created an idea but, as I understand copyright law, you can't copyright a idea.
Only the expression of the idea can be copyrighted and
the script is the expression of your idea.

Solution :

Make complete specifications along with flow charts showing the full process to be
performed. Use pseudo code and be detailed and exact like :



Now you can copyright you specs and pseudo code.
Also make a short contract specifying "This is a work for hire".
Work for hire means by law the programmer has no copyright
claims to the work he did.

Of course you can skip all that by hiring someone who is trustworthy.

Technically if he had an NDA signed he could go after him. But, unless you have the funds to do that its a pointless document. I use to work for IBM and MS creating databases and if I created anything software related they had rights to it.

like i said before if something is important enough use multiple programmers or pay the extra for a professional development company (actually physical company not an online website) to create it.

[fujiko]

i definitely feel ur pain.. But dont let that bother u, since u cant change wats happened.
Instead focus on ur site & build it to be the best.

[xmas13]

[G-Rotica]

It's called work for hire. If you paid him, you own the code.

[tranza]

It happens all the time. Did you have any contract with him?

[Pornstuck]

It happens all the time. Did you have any contract with him?

Give your bot a rest.

[2012]

Whoops

non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

That or hire this guy ...

[sysk]

Always ask for a signed Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) / Non-compete Agreement before you talk about your project. Good luck with this man

[StarkReality]

NDAs are a nice idea, but pretty useless in real life. Partner up with a friend who's a good programmer, these guys do magic and you'll go nowhere without decent tools and scripts. You need them for everything, even SEO.

[aico]

As said: non-disclosure non-compete, and also hire separate programs to work on different parts of the script.

[wheaties]

If it's a really good idea, and you expect this guy to do it for peanuts, then consider your site as good as duplicated. Why not go in a revenue sharing deal, that way there's mutual incentive to get the thing done, and he'll be less likely to rip it off.

[Manowar]

ouch

[JamesK]

That or hire this guy ...

[Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life]

Happened to me once upon a time, I raised a shit about it and wound up getting offered a cut from the proceeds. A large number of adult bloggers around here are now running what was originally supposed to be my private setup. At least I got some cash out of it in the end. You could demand a cut for yourself and see what he has to say. otherwise you'll just have to suck it up, and find a new coder next time around...

[Supz]

good old street justice

[~Ray]

you could post the programmers name so the gfy search will find it next time as a thief

[mrkris]

that happens all the time. I personally never give a programmer complete access to a site or an entire project. I only give pieces of it, I know enough basic php to put things together in the end. Also, use multiple programmers if you can.

i had one programmer once he saw the complete project and site, he message me asking can he view the backend and see how everything works. of course I said no, late found out some contacted him about creating a site script similar to mine.

This is one of the most absurd statements I've ever read. Segmenting sections of your code to different programmers with different levels of experience, education and in some cases, language, is why so many people have hard to maintain websites, vulnerable code and no documentation.

Then again, it's people like you who hire those of us that know what we are doing to write it from scratch and make more money, so, carry on

[WarChild]

It's called work for hire. If you paid him, you own the code.

That's wrong.

It's not a work for hire unless specifically stated. After the fact, it's too late.

[mrkris]

If it's a really good idea, and you expect this guy to do it for peanuts, then consider your site as good as duplicated. Why not go in a revenue sharing deal, that way there's mutual incentive to get the thing done, and he'll be less likely to rip it off.

Most developers don't like revenue sharing, since nobody can guarantee you will get anything back. I know quite a few people on here that are still trying to launch the same site they spoke about 2 years ago.

[Bojangles]

Sucks to hear that, man. Ouch.

[crockett]

Hey look at it this way.. at least your coder actually finished the job with a working script. That's gotta be better than 80% of the coders out there.

[UniversalPassLorence]

You got to have contracts drafted to address all your concerns inculding non-disclosure, non-compete, intellectual property and other clauses. You should even have it signed, before you even talk about the idea with them (at least the non-disclosure). But if the programmer is non US, then you got a new set of problems

[UniversalPassLorence]

You can get them off the net for a fee and customize them (inexpensive) or have a lawyer draft it (expensive).

[UniversalPassLorence]

NDAs are a nice idea, but pretty useless in real life. Partner up with a friend who's a good programmer, these guys do magic and you'll go nowhere without decent tools and scripts. You need them for everything, even SEO.

Hard to get a good programmer who is your friend and sane

[Kudles]

Punch him in the face

[NickPapageorgio]

Possession is 90% of the law without a detailed, signed document stating otherwise...

And to the guy posting to just build the site up better yada yada, it's easy to say that in a perfect world. But remember, the guy who wrote the software is the guy who's probably going to be the best at making the most of it. ;)

[TRe$yNFuL]

You got owned.

[woj]

...Best bet would be to go with a real established company that will probably charge you 10times as much but you get the security and piece of mind knowing you stuff won't be stolen...

Yup, that's really the only way...

[FreeHugeMovies]

At least he finished the job right?

[brandonstills]

Every time someone has an idea, I've already had it or there are 100 people already doing it. I never agree to NDA's for freelance work. Otherwise everyone would be accusing me of stealing their ideas for everything I did.

[CyberHustler]

[XXXMovie4M]

so what man, you came up with the first idea so stop crying about it and come up with another one! FUCK!

[gimo33]

[XXXMovie4M]

ya, what he said "HA HA"

[ilbb]

that's why I learned programming

[V_RocKs]

zThat sucks!

[DarkJedi]

How can you deal with situations like these?

Walk it off.

[mrwilson]

Cut your losses and release the script for free.
Why let him benefit from it?