Ask HN: Who Owns the IP?

Back Story: Two years ago, I cofounded a company with a business guy who had an idea and I fleshed out all the technical details, built three working applications, wrote several white papers and authored the majority of the text used in patents we filed.

A year ago we had two other partners in our venture which would have taken 10-15% equity each and had plans to raise VC which we estimated could take as much as 50% of the equity. I told my partner I would be happy ending up with 10% of the equity so I signed a loose agreement around that amount.

Fast forward to now: My partner has been absent for months, has not kept me in the loop about multiple investment we've taken and every meeting he's had with potential partners has flopped.

However, despite not taking VC investment and our other two partners leaving, the 10% equity number has stuck. So my partner is expecting 90% of the company.

My Question: I've decided to walk away from the venture. However, my partner is threatening to file a civil suit and an injunction to get me to hand over the IP to the company. He said I'm in violation of the following laws:

* Uniform Trade Secrets Act * My state's Civil Theft statute * Law of Misappropriation

Have I broken the law by not releasing the intellectual property that I built? It may have been his idea to start but it's entirely been my implementation.

I am going to consult a lawyer but I wanted to get feedback from HN since you guys are always so helpful.

Thanks!