Ask HN: Is it illegal or unethical to build apps based on previous paid work? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is it illegal or unethical to build apps based on previous paid work?

9 pointsgoostavos9 comments

Is it illegal -- or simply unethical -- to work on a competing product in your free time to one that you developed at a previous job?

I was previously employed in a field other than programming. My official title was about as far away from engineering as one could get. However, being that it was a very small company that I worked for (less than 5 employees), when it got out that I could code, I started working on little projects here and there.

One of the projects ended up being rather useful. However, since programming was not my official role, getting time approved to actually work on it was very tricky to do. In short, the software was built to a point where it works, and they use it on a daily basis for their business, but due to time constraints, it never reached the point of what I thought it <i>could</i> be.

I've now switched jobs, but that little app still floats in the back of my mind. I want to built it into the useful tool that I know it could be. Obviously no code would be reused from the previous job. Do I risk any kind of legal trouble for doing so?

IANAL - Do it.

You have specialist knowledge of a field that's led to you developing a solution for it. No reason why you should have to censor your potential to iterate further improvements for the human race, eh?

If you'd've been tied to them as a programmer, or had to sign some non-compete agreement, that'd be a different matter... but even then it'd only be a matter of time before you'd be allowed to carry on.

Unless your using code that they have laid legal claim to by making you sign NDA's or "All your work is ours" sorts of contracts, you should be in the clear.

Just re-using the idea and no code? That's called experience.

Lets say you signed an "all your work is ours" contract...

...how about re-using a function, like a snippet that connects to a db, that could be found all over the internet?

I assume you could argue that snippet was in the public domain prior, but it could be an interesting conversation regardless...

Really, it's going to come down to how litigious your former employer is. I've heard of cases where a person was sued simply because the idea for the work came the previous job with the concept that you would have never even thought to do this code if the previous employer hadn't tasked you with the challenge.

As has already been said though. If you have any doubts, talk with a lawyer who specializes in Intellectual Property cases.

Gah! That sounds so ridiculous Law is so opaque, obscure, confounding, and downright obtuse that I sometimes wonder how it can still be a thing.

Soon we'll need lawyers to tell us what we can or can't do when we're writing a simple bash script.

I'm of the opinion that, if everything involved law, there'd be virtually no progress.

IANAL but I was in a similar situation (didn't end up going through with it) and did some research.

The technical answer is you are probably in the clear unless some part of the app's flow or design was "non-obvious", and obviously you can't re-use code.

The real answer is if your old company decides to sue you, you won't be able to pony up the money for lawyers to fight it. If you get huge before they figure out and sue you, then at best you have a crazy expensive settlement on your hands.

Don't do it. ideas are dime a dozen, why not pick one that doesn't have strings?

TL;DR - Only a lawyer can really answer that.

That said, it really depends on what's in your employment contract, either explicitly or implied. Definitely start completely from scratch (use none of the code or even notes you wrote while an employee), but the other IP around this is where it gets tricky. Every jurisdiction has it's own subtleties.

It's also important to note that in many places (you didn't say where you are) you could be sued even if they don't really have a case, forcing you to spend the time and money to defend yourself.

Depends for what your clients pay you for. My clients pay me for my time, not the code. I have used code written in my own time for client projects and I have used code written for a client for another client's project.

I also do some custom work for customers of our saas and I always tell them that the code I write for them is non-exclusive which means I get to re-use the code and resell it. I estimate nearly 80% of the app has been created that way including almost all the add-ons.

Most stuff is based on previous work, whether paid or unpaid. Denying that is claiming you can build a wall without laying a brick upon the other, and asking people to mimick a red fish.

It's impossible to do, because it's impossible not to use a solution you know of to the problem at hand. Not to mention it's stupid.

There's a reason for the expression "Not reinventing the wheel" to exist. I mean, what's experience if not building something based on previous work ?

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