Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project • Hacker News Board

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#361

Post by fhrow4484 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:47 PM UTC

thefunnyman wrote: post #315

orliesaurus wrote: post #8

That's really shitty. I wonder what the founders of Replit have to say about this? They're active on HN so I hope they can address this publicly... EDIT: I mean the screenshots are irrefutable evidence of how bad this has escalated - it started as a normal convo and went downwards like the CEO was out to get some blood for no reason ... now I guess you're gonna get a lawyer threat letter to take down the whole blogpo…

Their silence on this matter speaks volumes. I’ve seen the Replit founders comment on just about every other HN post that pops up regarding their company so it’s quite surprising that they’ve made no comment here. Very curious to hear the other side of the story if there is one.

Here's a glimpse of the other side of the story, a reply from the CEO a few min ago: https://twitter.com/amasad/status/1401957368510906369?s=19

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#362

Post by SSLy » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:47 PM UTC

megous wrote: post #93

devwastaken wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Defense is a lot more expensive than offense in civil court. Complicated cases like these can be dragged for years and they'd have to pay for it. Intellectual property laws are very in the favor of whomever has the money to throw lawyers around.

Yes, but what would replit gain? Going after such a case would have given them nothing except for some expense. Dragging random people through court without any meaningful expected outcome sure doesn't seem like something VC's would like to fund. I'm not a VC though. Do they just rubber stamp whatever bullshit behavior from a CEO?

Your question about replit assumes the CEO behaves logically.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#363

Post by ilikehurdles » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

bravura wrote: post #220

KingOfCoders wrote: post #95

Vote me down, but Ycombinator: "It's all about the founders blah blah blah" - if their process finds and funds these kind of people, the process is broken. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/repl-it

Yes, but supporting remote by offering $0 - 0 salary and 0.00% - 0.00% equity seems legit and completely transparent: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/repl-it/jobs/aihA75TQr...

This seems like an illegal job listing in Colorado.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#364

Post by sam_lowry_ » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

Sigh. Now @pg will stop retweeting random Replit success stories.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#365

Post by sabhiram » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

This is funny. They literally do nothing but copy existing workflows and jam it into a "webapp", who really is the copycat?

I say you use this exposure to actually build a Lyft to their Uber. Show them who is really boss.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#366

Post by 6510 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

I'm not 100% sure but I think you can't kill open-source projects even if you wanted to. It seems that after releasing something into the wild its up to other people? A court case [it seems] could at best limit use to IP holders?

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#367

Post by shkkmo » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

jll29 wrote: post #257

FiloSottile wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> now I guess you're gonna get a lawyer threat letter to take down the whole blogpost because you've revealed private conversations without both parties' consent? Absent any NDA or other contract, there is nothing requiring the other party’s consent to publish correspondence in the US.

+1 Finally someone raising the valid point about "it all depends on the legal paperwork signed."

How would an NDA cover corrospondence with an intern from 2 years ago?

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#368

Post by FlyingSnake » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:49 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #23

rd wrote: post #7

If I’m reading those emails correctly, Amjad the CEO directly emailed you occasionally. It is pretty stunning that as the CEO of the company, he would stoop to what I interpret as pretty unprofessional communication and petty threats. I also am failing to connect the dots about why Replit would even feel threatened - if you were as helpful of an intern as described, you’d think they would recognize that you had good…

I mean, this was a marketing opportunity. They could've asked nicely if he'd be willing to link to repl.it for anyone who wants something more solid and scalable. It sounds from the early e-mails as if OP started out very positively predisposed towards them. Instead they've now broadcast to their potential customer base that they're litigious and petty.

> they've now broadcast to their potential customer base that they're litigious and petty.

This will indeed the case, and I’ll personally won’t be recommending them anymore. If they’re so petty to threaten to sue some intern, they’re not worth doing business with.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#369

Post by newdude116 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:49 PM UTC

codingdave wrote: post #111

> Naturally, I took down my project right away... So a CEO bullied you. He threatened to have lawyers look at something, accused you of behaving poorly, and accused you of being difficult. He is being manipulative. He is trying to guilt / scare you into stopping. And it worked. For all readers... do not be afraid of lawyers. Especially if nobody has even talked to them yet. Lawyers do not like to lose cases, so will…

> Lawyers do not like to lose cases, so will not push a losing agenda.

Most lawyers don't care since they are getting paid anyway. And something like a website that could be easily transferred into another jurisdiction or throw-away company? Good luck. This is not real estate where you are a sitting duck.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#370

Post by shkkmo » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC

fhrow4484 wrote: post #361

thefunnyman wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their silence on this matter speaks volumes. I’ve seen the Replit founders comment on just about every other HN post that pops up regarding their company so it’s quite surprising that they’ve made no comment here. Very curious to hear the other side of the story if there is one.

Here's a glimpse of the other side of the story, a reply from the CEO a few min ago: https://twitter.com/amasad/status/1401957368510906369?s=19

That doesn't seem to make replit look any better.

> There is a difference between copying a feature and actually getting intro a contract, and access to the code, copying it and calling it open-source.

> As a matter of principle, when someone goes into your home and steals from you, even if it's not material, you have to respond.

EDIT: Added quote. The implication seems to be that he thinks source code was stolen and this has nothing to do with design.