What would you do?
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If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
Do nothing because that is a loop hole which company should take care to protect the source code.
rahul
What??? So you are saying the company has to get a warrant to search employee's homes for evidence of company property (code in this case) when they leave the company?
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Editionleppie wrote:
Should I report it?
Report it, it may gain you a reward (promotion, bonus, payrise).
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What??? So you are saying the company has to get a warrant to search employee's homes for evidence of company property (code in this case) when they leave the company?
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionI think it is very important that you notify you company about what has taken place and let them deal with the situation. Fact of life, and I know you already know this, but your code is going to be copied/stolen/used without your consent more than once in your lifetime.
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leppie wrote:
Should I report it?
Report it, it may gain you a reward (promotion, bonus, payrise).
Norm .net wrote:
it may gain you a reward
I dont think contractors get rewards :(
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
What??? So you are saying the company has to get a warrant to search employee's homes for evidence of company property (code in this case) when they leave the company?
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionAlmost everyone I know takes a copy of code when they leave a programming job, although generally it is for the re-use of cunning ideas that may help them in a new job to avoid having to reinvent solutions rather than with any malicious aforethought. An ex colleague of mine left with the entirety of that company's code base on his phone. And now I think of it another company I worked for (that became the market leader) based their entire system on a database schema that had come from a rival company with someone who moved from them.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
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Almost everyone I know takes a copy of code when they leave a programming job, although generally it is for the re-use of cunning ideas that may help them in a new job to avoid having to reinvent solutions rather than with any malicious aforethought. An ex colleague of mine left with the entirety of that company's code base on his phone. And now I think of it another company I worked for (that became the market leader) based their entire system on a database schema that had come from a rival company with someone who moved from them.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
ChrisElston wrote:
Almost everyone I know takes a copy of code when they leave a programming job, although generally it is for the re-use of cunning ideas that may help them in a new job to avoid having to reinvent solutions rather than with any malicious aforethought.
For support reasons, I guess that can be legitimate. But blatantly copy/pasting ... :sigh:
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
Norm .net wrote:
it may gain you a reward
I dont think contractors get rewards :(
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Editionleppie wrote:
I dont think contractors get rewards
Yes, they do - I've had an reward in the past.
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Do nothing because that is a loop hole which company should take care to protect the source code.
rahul
So if someone steals something of yours, and you know who it is, you do nothing about it because obviously you did not do enough to protect it. Excellent judgement you have.
Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”
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leppie wrote:
I dont think contractors get rewards
Yes, they do - I've had an reward in the past.
Norm .net wrote:
I've had an reward in the past.
Consolation rewards don't count ;P
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Editionleppie wrote:
ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company. I've written code at home and published that I've then found useful in work. Yes there is a big question of legality and ownership here, but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight. Personally, when I hit on any idea I think I might want to publish at some point I ensure I only work on it at home. Then once it's published I import it into the work project following the same process we would use for any other 3rd party import with a full attribution in the source code or documentation as required by the license - other people might not be so aware of the issue though and just use code without quite thinking the implications through.
Simon
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If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionWe call it 'synergic benchmarking'... :rolleyes:
If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
[My articles] -
Norm .net wrote:
I've had an reward in the past.
Consolation rewards don't count ;P
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Editionand financial rewards do!
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leppie wrote:
ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company. I've written code at home and published that I've then found useful in work. Yes there is a big question of legality and ownership here, but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight. Personally, when I hit on any idea I think I might want to publish at some point I ensure I only work on it at home. Then once it's published I import it into the work project following the same process we would use for any other 3rd party import with a full attribution in the source code or documentation as required by the license - other people might not be so aware of the issue though and just use code without quite thinking the implications through.
Simon
Simon P Stevens wrote:
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company.I've written code at home and published that I've then found useful in work.Yes there is a big question of legality and ownership here, but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight.
So very true.
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If you found out a ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company I still work for? (I always suspected this would happen, and now found a Silverlight app he claimed to have developed, obviously I had to look ;P ) While the section of code is trivial, the only thing he bothered to change was the namespace. The rest is pretty much identical, except for it going with EF vs Linq2SQL. - Should I report it? - Should I keep it with me as a possible future bargaining/blackmailing tool? - Should I send him an invoice for the time he wasted in my company* when he originally developed the piece of code*? - Do nothing - Blackmail him? * The one I am still working for. * I had to rewrite the whole thing anyways, as it was crap. The stolen code was what I wrote, in fact.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth EditionIt's a difficult question to answer. Is it worth it (lawyers fees, time wasted, effort wasted, ...) ? Is this a very critical piece of code ? What could be the potential revenue loss for your current company ? Did he also took/stole customer lists/contacts ? M.
Watched code never compiles.
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leppie wrote:
ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company. I've written code at home and published that I've then found useful in work. Yes there is a big question of legality and ownership here, but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight. Personally, when I hit on any idea I think I might want to publish at some point I ensure I only work on it at home. Then once it's published I import it into the work project following the same process we would use for any other 3rd party import with a full attribution in the source code or documentation as required by the license - other people might not be so aware of the issue though and just use code without quite thinking the implications through.
Simon
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leppie wrote:
ex-coworker took/stole some code from the company
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company. I've written code at home and published that I've then found useful in work. Yes there is a big question of legality and ownership here, but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight. Personally, when I hit on any idea I think I might want to publish at some point I ensure I only work on it at home. Then once it's published I import it into the work project following the same process we would use for any other 3rd party import with a full attribution in the source code or documentation as required by the license - other people might not be so aware of the issue though and just use code without quite thinking the implications through.
Simon
Simon P Stevens wrote:
How do you know it was that way round. Perhaps he wrote it in his spare time and donated it to the company.
If he did, I rewrote it (as I said), it is the rewritten code that is an exact copy of the code I wrote. The last time that code was modified (version history) was by me, and about 1 - 2 months before he left our company.
Simon P Stevens wrote:
but unless it's a massive component or full project perhaps it's worth starting by assuming it's a genuine mistake or oversight.
It is rather trivial, but for that matter, the least he could have done is change type and member names here and there. And remember, Silverlight is just the tip of the iceberg. I highly suspect there to be more 'stolen' code in the backend.
Simon P Stevens wrote:
Personally, when I hit on any idea I think I might want to publish at some point I ensure I only work on it at home.
I agree, dont mix business with pleasure. In any case, I would make my code public before incorporating it into a business application.
xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x))) The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition -
Almost everyone I know takes a copy of code when they leave a programming job, although generally it is for the re-use of cunning ideas that may help them in a new job to avoid having to reinvent solutions rather than with any malicious aforethought. An ex colleague of mine left with the entirety of that company's code base on his phone. And now I think of it another company I worked for (that became the market leader) based their entire system on a database schema that had come from a rival company with someone who moved from them.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
ChrisElston wrote:
Almost everyone I know takes a copy of code when they leave a programming job
I wouldn't...but that's mostly because I'm pretty sure my code is complete crap once I've written it :-( I mean, it works, and all...but it could always be better...more elegant, more beautiful...
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p CodeProject MVP for 2010 - who'd'a thunk it!
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So if someone steals something of yours, and you know who it is, you do nothing about it because obviously you did not do enough to protect it. Excellent judgement you have.
Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”