Patrick Michalik

I respect intellectual property

I used to contribute to a project where concerns arose regarding two other members’ activity.

A former member was found to have participated in the theft and disclosure of confidential information. Looking into the matter, I learned that their involvement in such activity went back to before their departure. Since none of these actions were project-related, and the individual in question was no longer involved in the project, I continued to contribute.

Later, I discovered that an active member had been adding proprietary code to the project without authorization. This prompted my immediate departure. My concern was sometimes misrepresented as relating to—or countered with assertions about—the legality of reverse engineering, through which the code had been obtained. The issue, however, was the unauthorized use of proprietary code, not the means of its acquisition. Regardless of the latter’s legality, this unauthorized use was an intellectual-property violation; indeed, it would’ve remained so even if the copied code had been publicly available.

I leave the project unspecified for discretion, but I wish to make it clear that I had no involvement in the aforesaid activity, nor have I ever engaged in any similar pursuits.

© 2024 Patrick Michalik