intellectual-property legal-terms
Can I get in trouble legally if I use the code that I contributed in an unofficial project?
<h2>My Issue</h2>
<p>Me and my &quot;friends&quot; started a common project on <code>github</code> where we were writing code.I left the project many months before they decided to make everything official (start a company). I didn't sign any kind of paper, back then.</p>
<p>They want me to sign a paper that I will not share the code <strong>WE</strong> wrote (I contributed maybe 40%-50%).</p>
<p>But I don't really want to. They want to make sure I don't use it for the same business ideal (i.e. steal the idea).</p>
<p>Even if I start the same business with the same idea and code will I legally get in trouble? I don't have any intentions of doing so and this was the reason I left. I don't want any kind of trouble or have any kind of legally signed papers with them.</p>
<h2>This is not a patent</h2>
<p>The business idea is not any kind of patent, companies can approach this business idea with the same technology that <strong>&quot;WE&quot;</strong> used and also the code could be partially identical in many areas.</p>
<p>Please advise, can I get in trouble if I decide to share this code? Will I be legally in trouble if I use the same code?</p>

<p>A person who contributed code to a github-based project, or indeed to any similar informal project, can freely reuse, modify or share that code, unless the person had promised not to in a contract or binding agreement. Many projects on Github are under open source licenses, where such agreements are not used. The question seems to indicate that no such agreement was made.</p>
<p>Business ideas or concepts or plans are not subject to copyright or patent protection. One might be a <em>trade secret</em>,  but  only if there was an agreement to keep it secret. In particular, a person who was one of then people who came up with a business idea is free to use it or share it in the absence of an agreement not to do so.</p>
<p>It would seem that the OP is being asked, after the fact, to make such an agreement. Note that it would not be be a contract, and might well not be binding, unless the OP got something of value for making it.</p>
<p>If the OP were to make a contract including an agreement not to use or share the code or the idea, the OP would be obliged to respect that agreement. Violating it might give the other parties grounds to sue and collect damages, if they could prove that the violation had done them harm.</p>
<p>Nothing <strong>requires</strong> the OP to make such an agreement. The OP could simply ignore the project. The OP could use or share or sell the code s/he personally wrote, and could use or share or sell the business idea, or not. None of those things would give the other parties valid grounds to sue the OP, and surely none of them would be a <strong>crime</strong>. This is assuming that no previous agreement between the OP and the other parties exists, of course.</p>
