- Jurisdiction
- Florida
Hi.
I am an independent programmer. One year ago, someone contacted me by email interested on a technology I created. He offered me a job as a remote lead programmer, and we agreed on skype/email that I would sell my tech for USD 10k. He paid 5k upfront, then told me he would pay the other 5k when we delivered his game.
Soon after I gave him my tech, he lowered my role without notice. He elected a friend of him to take my lead position. We disagreed and I left the job. He then told me to take the tech back (impossible, it was my entire source-code) and give back his 5k. That way, he obviously would have the tech to study for free.
Unfortunately, on the skype agreement there was no time limit, or guarantees about my job role, etc. Now, this is clear that he won't pay the other 5k. This would be relatively easy to make enough changes to the source-code so it uses my ideas and techniques, but looks like new, and I am under the impression he will do that, then say that he did not use my technology.
He also states that the tech is all his property, and that I can't even develop a new one related to that (I never agreed to that). Is that right, is he owner of my tech now, even if he never pays the remaining 5k? What can I do about that? Can I continue using my technology (developed alone at home, for years)?
Is this all valid at all? At the same time that he says that I did not explicitly state a limit of time for him to pay the remaining 5k, he says that any further development I do related to that technology (even if I restart from scratch) are his property, even if that is not stated in our "agreement".
I am confused, please help me.
Thank you very much.
I am an independent programmer. One year ago, someone contacted me by email interested on a technology I created. He offered me a job as a remote lead programmer, and we agreed on skype/email that I would sell my tech for USD 10k. He paid 5k upfront, then told me he would pay the other 5k when we delivered his game.
Soon after I gave him my tech, he lowered my role without notice. He elected a friend of him to take my lead position. We disagreed and I left the job. He then told me to take the tech back (impossible, it was my entire source-code) and give back his 5k. That way, he obviously would have the tech to study for free.
Unfortunately, on the skype agreement there was no time limit, or guarantees about my job role, etc. Now, this is clear that he won't pay the other 5k. This would be relatively easy to make enough changes to the source-code so it uses my ideas and techniques, but looks like new, and I am under the impression he will do that, then say that he did not use my technology.
He also states that the tech is all his property, and that I can't even develop a new one related to that (I never agreed to that). Is that right, is he owner of my tech now, even if he never pays the remaining 5k? What can I do about that? Can I continue using my technology (developed alone at home, for years)?
Is this all valid at all? At the same time that he says that I did not explicitly state a limit of time for him to pay the remaining 5k, he says that any further development I do related to that technology (even if I restart from scratch) are his property, even if that is not stated in our "agreement".
I am confused, please help me.
Thank you very much.
