Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Legal Piracy: Went legit, does that matter in the end?

j0hnb · 11-09-2006, 07:46 AM

Yea, I know that stopping isn't going to protect me at all.

Well I guess I might as well explain the full story. I worked as a freelance graphic artist and webmaster for a local business owner. I worked daily for him for about a year and a half. Sadly with my personality I hate asking for money even if I have worked for it. He acted like a friend and kept putting off paying me. He would give me small amounts to hold me over and keep me working. He later gave me stock in his company instead of paying me as he had promised. I know I should have gotten a contract in writing, we had a verbal agreement, but in the end it's his words against mine. So a year or so later, when I decided that I had had enough, and I left. He got really pissed at me when I took his website down. I had been hosting it till that point and paying for it out of my pocket. I asked for the money I deserved, and followed by asking for him to buy the stock back, which it states in the stock contract that he would. He laughed in my face and said some things that were quite hurtful. No real need to go into detail there.

Law runs in my family, so I went over the situation with them, and I was informed that I would take some legal action and not let him walk over me like that. So we went the legal road, and I have only asked and went after what I deserved and what I can prove that he owes me. Which is roughly around 7k in cash and I have over 14k in stock shares.

In effort for me to settle out for a price that is like an 8th of what I worked for he is using the pirated info against me. I was unable to afford the legit software because he wasn't paying me. He paid me enough to help me with my rent and food.

That is the basics of it, there is a lot more. His lies to me, how he faked a lot of the information he is claiming. How he lied on his taxes about what he paid me, and how he lied to all the stock holders when he send out a stock booklet showing how many shares were out there. Showing 100% of them and all that, but by shares are no where to be found in that info. So I have a lot to get back at him, but I'm trying not to play the game at his level. I just want to know what I would be up against if he were to in the end report me.

In the end I have only really used 3 or so pieces of pirated software, would they even take the time to deal with someone as low on the pirated chain as me?

11-09-2006, 07:46 AM	#3 (permalink)
j0hnb Crazy Location: Arnold, MD	Yea, I know that stopping isn't going to protect me at all. Well I guess I might as well explain the full story. I worked as a freelance graphic artist and webmaster for a local business owner. I worked daily for him for about a year and a half. Sadly with my personality I hate asking for money even if I have worked for it. He acted like a friend and kept putting off paying me. He would give me small amounts to hold me over and keep me working. He later gave me stock in his company instead of paying me as he had promised. I know I should have gotten a contract in writing, we had a verbal agreement, but in the end it's his words against mine. So a year or so later, when I decided that I had had enough, and I left. He got really pissed at me when I took his website down. I had been hosting it till that point and paying for it out of my pocket. I asked for the money I deserved, and followed by asking for him to buy the stock back, which it states in the stock contract that he would. He laughed in my face and said some things that were quite hurtful. No real need to go into detail there. Law runs in my family, so I went over the situation with them, and I was informed that I would take some legal action and not let him walk over me like that. So we went the legal road, and I have only asked and went after what I deserved and what I can prove that he owes me. Which is roughly around 7k in cash and I have over 14k in stock shares. In effort for me to settle out for a price that is like an 8th of what I worked for he is using the pirated info against me. I was unable to afford the legit software because he wasn't paying me. He paid me enough to help me with my rent and food. That is the basics of it, there is a lot more. His lies to me, how he faked a lot of the information he is claiming. How he lied on his taxes about what he paid me, and how he lied to all the stock holders when he send out a stock booklet showing how many shares were out there. Showing 100% of them and all that, but by shares are no where to be found in that info. So I have a lot to get back at him, but I'm trying not to play the game at his level. I just want to know what I would be up against if he were to in the end report me. In the end I have only really used 3 or so pieces of pirated software, would they even take the time to deal with someone as low on the pirated chain as me?