Not sure about UK, but in the US you would've been sued up and down if you'd try to use your software as competition especially within just months of leaving. On top of potentially losing everything you own, you might have ended up having to fork over the code you made for free. Companies in the US have you sign NDAs, IP, and No Compete contracts that would be very hard to argue in court that you did not use knowledge you gained while at the company to create your project. Still, good for you that it worked out. I just wouldn't want other people getting this idea in their heads without understanding that it would likely blow up in their faces.
Dev Team Lead βοΈ / Full-Stack Engineer π₯ / Vue, Nuxt, Node, TypeScript/ Student Pilot π¨ββοΈ / Co-organizing BelVue Meetup π / Public speaker, MC π£οΈ
Location
Luxembourg
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2011 Master of Science in Engineering, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
Yeah, in the US, even without signing something, it could fall under a trade secrets clause, which isn't specific to technology. It's just a warning to people that in general something like this is likely to come off as hostile. If you're in a dead-end job, leave on your own terms (be it freelance or a new job), but not with the goal of leveraging your former employer.
Dev Team Lead βοΈ / Full-Stack Engineer π₯ / Vue, Nuxt, Node, TypeScript/ Student Pilot π¨ββοΈ / Co-organizing BelVue Meetup π / Public speaker, MC π£οΈ
Location
Luxembourg
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2011 Master of Science in Engineering, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
Certainly, in general, employees get the short-end of the stick in on a lot of issues that larger corporations are able to weasel around, but in this case, you have to ask yourself, "Would you have built this if you hadn't worked there?", "Were some of your features based on what you worked on?", "Were some ideas for execution uniquely representative of the company's product?" Not specific to yours since I have no idea, but in a lot of cases, it's fair to say that a company's investment in their product should have some protections from rogue ex-employees, and drawing the line between intentions can get pretty gray in court especially if you're going to be standing opposite a team of lawyers.
Dev Team Lead βοΈ / Full-Stack Engineer π₯ / Vue, Nuxt, Node, TypeScript/ Student Pilot π¨ββοΈ / Co-organizing BelVue Meetup π / Public speaker, MC π£οΈ
Location
Luxembourg
Education
2011 Master of Science in Engineering, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
At the end theyβre happy that I provide them with a solution they need. Iβd not consider myself a rogue. Especially because I wouldnβt have published it if theyβd have refused.
Iβm on excellent term with my former boss. Nobody is mad.
Yes, I understand. I did my best to indicate that I was not speaking about your specific situation/experience. Sorry if it came across that way; I just wanted to make those points because people see the post title and go "aha, I can do that too", and odds are it's not going to go down for them like it did for you. I think the more important message in your post is finding the courage to leave a job, investing in self-training if necessary, and looking towards the future.
Dev Team Lead βοΈ / Full-Stack Engineer π₯ / Vue, Nuxt, Node, TypeScript/ Student Pilot π¨ββοΈ / Co-organizing BelVue Meetup π / Public speaker, MC π£οΈ
Location
Luxembourg
Education
2011 Master of Science in Engineering, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
Dev Team Lead βοΈ / Full-Stack Engineer π₯ / Vue, Nuxt, Node, TypeScript/ Student Pilot π¨ββοΈ / Co-organizing BelVue Meetup π / Public speaker, MC π£οΈ
Location
Luxembourg
Education
2011 Master of Science in Engineering, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences
Not sure about UK, but in the US you would've been sued up and down if you'd try to use your software as competition especially within just months of leaving. On top of potentially losing everything you own, you might have ended up having to fork over the code you made for free. Companies in the US have you sign NDAs, IP, and No Compete contracts that would be very hard to argue in court that you did not use knowledge you gained while at the company to create your project. Still, good for you that it worked out. I just wouldn't want other people getting this idea in their heads without understanding that it would likely blow up in their faces.
Never signed anything π
Yeah, in the US, even without signing something, it could fall under a trade secrets clause, which isn't specific to technology. It's just a warning to people that in general something like this is likely to come off as hostile. If you're in a dead-end job, leave on your own terms (be it freelance or a new job), but not with the goal of leveraging your former employer.
Huh. Seems like in the US itβs a little bit more strict then
Certainly, in general, employees get the short-end of the stick in on a lot of issues that larger corporations are able to weasel around, but in this case, you have to ask yourself, "Would you have built this if you hadn't worked there?", "Were some of your features based on what you worked on?", "Were some ideas for execution uniquely representative of the company's product?" Not specific to yours since I have no idea, but in a lot of cases, it's fair to say that a company's investment in their product should have some protections from rogue ex-employees, and drawing the line between intentions can get pretty gray in court especially if you're going to be standing opposite a team of lawyers.
At the end theyβre happy that I provide them with a solution they need. Iβd not consider myself a rogue. Especially because I wouldnβt have published it if theyβd have refused.
Iβm on excellent term with my former boss. Nobody is mad.
Yes, I understand. I did my best to indicate that I was not speaking about your specific situation/experience. Sorry if it came across that way; I just wanted to make those points because people see the post title and go "aha, I can do that too", and odds are it's not going to go down for them like it did for you. I think the more important message in your post is finding the courage to leave a job, investing in self-training if necessary, and looking towards the future.
Youβre right. I should add this to the article
Added an explanation of that in the article π