Ask HN: Startup stole our software, and raised $2MM with it. What should we do?

231 points

12 years ago

About 2 years ago, my firm developed software under contract. About 4 months later, after falling behind on payments, the customer "charged back" all his previous payments (via PayPal), and kept the software (it was not yet finished, but functional enough to charge customers).

We recouped about half the money through PayPal's dispute process. We let the rest go, deciding it wasn't worth trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.

Fast forward to today, the very same company is on the front page of HackerNews:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8225738

The business' name is Pigeon.ly / fotopigeon.com (when we worked on it it was called pichurz.com / picturgram.com). The owners names are Fredrick Hutson and Alfonzo Brooks.

So, HN, what should we do? We have a signed contract with them which states that the software becomes our property in the event of non-payment. Should we assert ownership of the software? Of their business? Should we sue them? Should we reach out to their investors (Kapor Capital and Base Ventures)? Should we include Kapor Capital and Base Ventures in the suit?

I would really appreciate any advice HN can offer. We will of course rely on our attorney's advice primarily, but I am optimistic that someone here has dealt with a similar situation before.

Thank you for your time!

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