Re: [Nolug] Professional Question

>
> I agree, and have stated as much. Fold the hat out of different paper, to
> boot.
>
> A quote from one of the slashdot links posted earlier (I'd paste it, but X
> is acting up and won't copy it):
>
> Steve Wozniak created the Apple computer while working for HP, offered it
> to them, they refused, so he started his own company.
>
> They refused to accept your hat, remember? Go open your own hat store.
>
> Hmm... do you have emails to the effect that they refused your hat, and
> called upon another hat maker instead?

Sorry to reply to my own post, but this seems the most logical place...

You have a copy of the source code, and it's your idea to begin with.
Therefore, rewriting it in a more efficient language (I need to look more
closely at your JSP, but I'm still betting that PHP is going to give a
smaller codebase) shouldn't cause you any legal problems.

Regarding the idea itself, you are merely tracking the shipment of hats using
software instead of pen-and-paper. You may have had the bright idea of
writing an app to do it, and you may have indeed written an app to do it, but
the act of tracking hats is being performed by every one of your company's
competitors every day. Tracking hats is not a trade secret.

Now, before you set up your own hat shop, did you sign a paper stating that
you would not go into the hat business for yourself for X number of years
after you left? Or that you can't work for any other hat maker until X years
have passed? In my opinion, no NDA can take away your right to earn a living.
Trade secrets an NDS can protect, but since neither the making of hats nor
the tracking of hat sales is proprietary, I think you're on solid ground.

Does your company do anything fundamentally differnent from the other hat
shops in town? I remember you telling me that you were told to help a
competitor write their own hat software, so apparently your company doesn't
think that hat tracking software is proprietary.

Also, since your company thinks your software is garbage and asked Mr. Simpson
to write another version of it, I cannot see how they would be harmed by your
writing yet another implementation of hatware.

Oh, and to the Musketeers, I am now at least a little familiar with the
internal workings of Chris's company, having set up a Linux server for them,
and collaborated with Mr. Simpson regarding the implementation of his
yet-unfinished hatware rewrite, and can say that Chris's description of his
company's dealing with him is fairly accurate --- he isn't kidding at all.

-- 
Joey Kelly
< Minister of the Gospel | Linux Consultant >
http://joeykelly.net
"I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous."
 --- David Bradley, the IBM employee that invented CTRL-ALT-DEL
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