Anyone can now buy a certificate for 'Certified Engineer' and then claim to be an expert in the field.... (You did see the office picture)
On the surface, this would seems true, however you have to remember, IB filed this suit even before (If I am not mistaken) a public beta was available. They had no chance of seeing the code, yet they claimed copyright infringement. How could you possibly? Where they hoping that it was a copy? Surely they are not that naive. Who knows what they are actually thinking.
Maybe they want to do on others that they claim was done on them.... 'Hacked' or most likely someone gave and or had unauthorized access to xenForo computers/website (was outside his flat and peeking over Kiers and Mikes shoulders). My bet is that xenForo was a working product at 'Alpha' stage and since vB is bug ridden, so why is not a script that can be created by 'Experience Developers' with most likely about 20 years of growth knowledge have the same undesirable bugs at release...
I have to agree with this. I've thought all along that IB is scared to death of what Kier and the team can produce. (with Kirk's track record, they didn't have to see anything to know it would be a great product) Instead of trying to compete with a better product (something they clearly haven't been able to do) they have resorted to legal action. It doesn't matter if they have a leg to stand on, they have deep pockets and there is no recourse (at least here in the US) for frivolous lawsuits. Not only does it slow down new customer acquisitions, but it can put an enormous amount of debt (from legal expenses) on xenForo that could hurt the company. (unfortunately, speaking from first-hand experience here)
I have my doubts. If that was the case they would have created an environment that encouraged Kier and others to stay. (as well as supported a build from scratch, like others have suggested) Even if IB wins (by some fluke) they can't force the xenForo team to work there. The code is only as good as the team that created it and it would quickly die loose it's luster with others working on it. (like vB4.0) It would be cheaper for them to have a team build a great product from scratch than the legal costs of what they are doing.
I tend to agree with on that point, they've made a hash of the current code base and I'm not convinced the current development team has the ability to start from a clean slate. The sad thing is even if they did win and get ownership of Xenforo and it's code it would end up in the hands of the same developers who have hashed things up.
Neither did I.
So then there was no reason for you to not go around and chat it up with the other employees.
Actually, look up U.S. Civil Litigation Rule 11. Some people should be worried.
heh judging by the thousands of bogus lawsuits filed here every day, it seems that law isn't enforced as it should be.
While the rule is there, it is very vague and open for interpretation. I looked into recouping my legal fees when my company was wrongfully sued and my lawyers strongly discouraged it since I would just be spending more money on a very slim chance of getting anything back. Sadly, I was out over $50k in expenses, and it never went to trial. My law firm reduced the fees, which I am sure they wouldn't have done if they thought they could get the full amount via Rule 11.
That will not stop this type of practice, as penalties are not set high enough to discourage such lawsuits getting pass the clerks desks to the Judge.
Or maybe the roadmap?
Since December they having using a legal team from the firm Ervin Cohen & Jessup, after they parted company with their original firm, Alston + Bird, with whom they filed the original complaint in California. In the English action, they have retained the services of DLA Piper.
