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Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

blogs.marketwatch.com

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Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#81

Post by darose »

downandout wrote: post #38
melling wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's very clear what he did was wrong. He works in an industry that does not allow you to email code home or copy it off of company computers. Goldman might be a little different, but where I've worked, this was definitely a no, no, and you could easily be fired for doing it.

According to the original article, Goldman was actually violating the license terms of the open source software it had modified by not releasing it. Further, while you and I may have our opinions, a judge found Goldman's actions to be so egregious that he ordered them to pay the defense costs for someone accused of stealing from them. That is exceedingly rare, and wouldn't have happened if there were any doubts about…

From the Vanity Fair article, it sounds like Goldman is in fact violating the terms of the license, but not in the way you're describing. (I.e., not by refusing to release changes.)

According to the article Goldman would routinely strip off the license/copyright from off of the open source code file and replace it with their own copyright. And that is a violation of many open source licenses.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#82

Post by lambda »

revelation wrote: post #58
Mikeb85 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not according to the GSF's website. Besides, let's face it, GS employees likely don't have any 'secret' code anywhere near their computers. It likely lives on their mainframes, and only there.

Well, it's an FAQ, it's a simplification, not the actual legally binding license. I can't find any mention of "organization", but I do find these parts (GPLv2): 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following: [give access to the sourcecode] Meaning everyone yo…

Yes, I believe that the license is for the corporation as a whole, so it using it internally does not count as distribution.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#84

Post by axc123 »

smtddr wrote: post #76
oofabz wrote: post #41

Aleynikov has lived in the US for twenty years and owns a house in Chicago. It sounds to me like he is an American programmer, not a Russian programmer. I don't see why his ancestry is relevant.

My parents owned a home and lived in USA for over 30 years... but they are, and will always be, Nigerian. Home is where the heart is. I wonder what Aleynikov would say if we asked him "Are you American or Russian? Or both?"

How does that make his ancestory relevant in this case to be quoted ?

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#85

Post by dllthomas »

bmm6o wrote: post #78
dllthomas wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the typical case, probably, but if you have a large organization you could easily wind up with one exception. What rights these people do and don't have still seems important.

One exception who invited legal trouble for the organization as a matter of some kind of principle would likely find himself no longer a member of the organization. In the best-case scenario, this person gets to see the source code for an internal tool. Who exactly is going to fund this legal battle?

What about one exception who was already on the way out? Or what about one exception who was engaged in industrial espionage?

I'm just saying if you're just relying on employees not exercising rights they have - after which something you've been trying to prevent distribution of can be freely distributed - your situation is somewhat fragile.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#86

Post by Daniel_Newby »

md224 wrote: post #34
vinkelhake wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you begin a statement with "It's very clear" then I expect you to back that statement up with facts so that the rest of us can see why it's so clear. Does it seem reasonable that Goldman Sachs want to send a message to their own programmers? Is that going to work well for them in recruiting? If anything, the NSA revelations have given conspiracy theorists carte blanche to go full steam on their theories. You'll ha…

Another important aspect is whether or not the belief in these theories is justified , regardless of whether or not they turn out to be true. This kind of relates to the Gettier problem in epistemology, where one may "know" something completely by accident, and we wouldn't really consider that "knowledge." Were conspiracy theorists justified in believing their theories prior to the NSA leaks? Maybe, maybe not. But we…

Nothing the NSA was doing was news. Or indeed even hidden, much of it having been previously reported on HN and even the mainstream news.

Few people connected the NSA dots because few people connect any dots. There are dozens of other important stories snowed under by the same blizzard of laziness and stupidity.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#88

Post by rcarrigan87 »

The real tragedy is how many brilliant and motivated people end up in finance nowadays and how the industry overall continues to grow into an ever greater portion of the US economy. I'm not belittling the role of finance in an advanced economy. But you would think with the incredible advances we've made in electronic exchanges and the free flow of information on the internet the role of finance would have taken a backseat. Unfortunately, Sergey is just another example (guilty or not) of wasted talent down the financial sink hole.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#89

Post by akira2501 »

downandout wrote: post #5

It's very clear that Goldman is trying to punish him for leaving, while sending a message to their other programmers that if they leave, their lives will be ruined. Even if this guy ultimately wins the state trial, he will never get back the years he has spent fighting it. Goldman has already won, and in this case that is appalling.

I think they're more concerned with their reputation and the perception of their internal practices and controls, and most importantly the value of their "technology." Just read the second and third sentence of Goldman's reply.

Re: Russian programmer fights Goldman Sachs and wins one round

#90

Post by akira2501 »

melling wrote: post #17
downandout wrote: post #5

It's very clear that Goldman is trying to punish him for leaving, while sending a message to their other programmers that if they leave, their lives will be ruined. Even if this guy ultimately wins the state trial, he will never get back the years he has spent fighting it. Goldman has already won, and in this case that is appalling.

No, it's very clear what he did was wrong. He works in an industry that does not allow you to email code home or copy it off of company computers. Goldman might be a little different, but where I've worked, this was definitely a no, no, and you could easily be fired for doing it.

Wasn't he doing this for the entire time he was employed at Goldman? They only checked _after_ he decided to leave?
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