

Remember the guy who built a game while working, and then got sued? He won - vaksel
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/30/the-mob-wars-war-is-over/

======
teej
As someone who was close to the situation, let me clarify some obvious errors
in this article:

\- Dave Maestri was never employed by SGN. He worked for Freewebs
(www.freewebs.com)

\- Dave never ever worked on any game or Facebook related product at Freewebs.

\- SGN is not an "iteration" of Freewebs, it's a spin off. This is like
calling Frasier an iteration of Cheers.

\- Dave left Freewebs, not SGN.

\- "Maestri will pursue Zynga..." - This is not ever going to happen.

On a different note, this comment is a great summary of the game, if you
haven't played it: "$1m/month in revenues… incredible for a game I used to
play on the TI-83. Seems like everything old is new again, except when add in
a little social spice it becomes insanely popular."

------
jcromartie
> It was first created by Maestri while still employed at SGN’s former
> iteration, FreeWebs, under the pseudonym Jason Gilbert. That alone is
> evidence that the game actually belonged to his employer.

No. That alone is _not_ enough. I hate you Mike Arrington. Die in a fire.
Those contract clauses are complete bullshit, as evidenced by the decision in
this lawsuit. That's the only thing that is proven here. I can't believe
someone would side with the bloodsuckers that come up with those ownership
clauses.

~~~
fhhacker
I created an account here just to comment on this. I am not aware of the whole
story here, specifically if he did the game development on his own time (i.e.
while not at work). However, I employ several software developers for the
development and maintenance of a billing system which we deploy using a SaaS
model. I would be very upset, and would in fact view it as fraudulent
activity, if one of those developers built a competing product, especially
while they were at work and I was paying them to do work for me. And, even if
the developer did all the work at home, I would still have IP concerns. How
would I know he was not ripping off a bunch of ideas or code from work?

I know that hackers are a fiercely independent lot, as I am myself, which is
why I started my own company. However, we have to be careful that we don’t go
too far with the “stick it to the man” attitude. Put your self in the
employer’s shoes. What if you started a company, put in a bunch of money and
time, only to find out that one of the people you hired was developing a
product very similar to yours on the side. How would you feel about that?

~~~
jcromartie
I don't really envision a hacker stealing his employer's code. If he's going
to build a competing product it's likely because he's up with the code at his
day job.

As far as I can gather, the most that SGN has against Maestri is the
possibility that "his success with Mob Wars was his insight into the company’s
infrastructure and intelligence." I see no mention of it being developed on
company time.

So he learned from his experiences, was bored, and made something on his own.
If he was my employee then I'd say "good for you (and you can leave since you
obviously don't need this job)."

~~~
fhhacker
Well, let me know if you ever raise a bunch of capital and start a successful
company. I will come work for you, gain a bunch of "experience", and re-create
your company on the side. When I get the "atta boy" from you, I will move on.

------
bdfh42
Quote: "The Mob Wars game goes to Maestri, but SGN will have rights to create
similar style games itself. SGN also received an undisclosed financial
settlement."

So not a win as such then.

Plus I rather suspect that creating a new game while employed by a game
development concern is sailing pretty close to the wind.

~~~
mattmaroon
It's a huge win. They could clone his app anyway. Zynga already has. My
understanding of IP law as pertains to games is that unless they infringe on
his trademarks (which is impossible anyway since app names are unique on
Facebook) there's precious little he could have done about it.

SGN effectively got nothing beyond whatever money was in the settlement there.
It's about all Maestri could possibly hope for.

------
iheartrms
"The Mob Wars game goes to Maestri, but SGN will have rights to create similar
style games itself. SGN also received an undisclosed financial settlement."

He won? Then why is he paying a financial settlement to SGN?

------
johns
Original title: The Mob Wars War Is Over

