Delta pilot suing airline for $1 billion over communications app

[Oxman]

One Beeeelllion dollars......

Delta pilot suing airline for $1 billion over communications app

Suit alleges company ‘stole like a thief in the night’ from employee

finance.yahoo.com

Delta Airlines is being sued for more than $1bn by one of its own pilots who claims that the company plagiarised a text-messaging app for flight crews, a report has said.

According to Bloomberg, Captain Craig Alexander has alleged that the airliner stole his app and used it as the basis for its own programme, accusing them of trade-secrets theft on Monday.

The pilot, who has worked for the company for 11 years, alleged that he spent $100,000 of his own money developing the QrewLive app and pitched it to Delta as a method of communication for crews.


“Flight Family Communication (FFC) is a carbon copy, knock-off of the role-based text messaging component of Craig’s proprietary QrewLive communications platform,” Mr Alexander alleged in the lawsuit.

Morgan Durrant, a Delta spokesperson, told Bloomberg that the airline takes the “allegations specified in Mr Alexander’s complaint seriously”.

However, the company expressed that they “are not an accurate or fair description of Delta’s development of its internal crew messaging platform”.

According to Bloomberg, CEO Ed Bastian, CIO, Rahul Samant and four other Delta executives are named in the suit.

The lawsuit says Mr Bastian and Mr Samant have allegedly told investors that the app has rectified ongoing issues with operations, making significant “cost savings to Delta”.

The pilot reportedly alleges that he met with executives on a number of occasions in 2015 and 2016 in regards to the app and that the airline expressed a clear interest in the technology.

Delta allegedly later shut down the discussions and developed its FFC, which launched in April 2018.

In a news release in November 2018, Delta describes FFC as a “real-time digital conversation stream” used “to improve communication, save time and deliver more meaningful information to customers”.

The airline said the new app had resulted in a 45 percent decrease in time used for in-person communications and noted that “about 50 per cent of all Delta departures have benefitted”.

 

[GypsyPilot]

Now Delta just needs to do their own app process to create an alternative to the airlineapps site that a Delta pilot owns. I’m amazed how much that guy must pull in with that.

 

[killbilly]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

 

[Roger Roger]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

It’s a mat….with different conclusions you can jump to

 

[CFI A&P]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

This is the first thing I thought of while reading this story. Maybe someone can chime in and tell us if such a form exists there.

 

[gotWXdagain]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

I believe the article says he did it on his own time and dime?

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

It’s a mat….with different conclusions you can jump to

Legendary…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SrFnFly227]

Now Delta just needs to do their own app process to create an alternative to the airlineapps site that a Delta pilot owns. I’m amazed how much that guy must pull in with that.

At least they changed their interview process. Tito must be scrambling trying to keep RST relevant before his cash cow dies.

 

[Avalon781ML]

Something like this occurred at a previous company of mine… Long story short the employee ended up winning…. Sheesh between this and the case where Delta lost the case about utilizing their psychiatrist to terminate an employee… this is crazy!

 

[Lawman]

I believe the article says he did it on his own time and dime?

My wife’s background is in creative design, that’s not great argument for protection depending on contract positions.

You could develop something totally without intention, direction, assets, etc from the Company… but so long as you’re employment experiences can even be linked to your creative work, those companies can and do win in court. An example people a guy from Disney doodling using techniques or influences they were exposed to which allowed them to draw any inspiration…. You can bet Disney is gonna get their piece of whatever it is you made.

If Delta doesn’t have something buried in the contract protecting from this before they damn sure will now. I feel for the guy though…you try to make something only to have the company Debo it without any kind of attempt even at compensation. Sucks to all that see it and stifles any desire by others to be inspired beyond their assigned tasks. Why innovate if there is no upside.


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[Roger Roger]

I believe the article says he did it on his own time and dime?

Boss makes a dollar I make a dime that’s why I code apps on company time?

 

[mikecweb]

Now Delta just needs to do their own app process to create an alternative to the airlineapps site that a Delta pilot owns. I’m amazed how much that guy must pull in with that.

He used to come around these parts

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

It’s a mat….with different conclusions you can jump to

It's exactly as you described.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

This is the first thing I thought of while reading this story. Maybe someone can chime in and tell us if such a form exists there.

This is a copy/paste from my offer letter at Virgin America (bolded portion is mine for emphasis):


Confidentiality/Proprietary Information
As a team member of the Company, you will have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the company. To protect the interests of the Company, you will be required to sign the company's standard "Team Member Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement" as a condition of your employment.

We wish to impress upon you that we do not want you to, and we hereby direct you not to, bring with you any confidential or proprietary material of any former employer or to violate any other obligations you may have to any former employer.

During the period that you render services to the Company, you agree to not engage in any employment, business or activity that is in any way competitive with the business or proposed business of the Company. If you are currently employed by or retained on the seniority list of any carrier, you will be required to provide a signed copy of your letter of resignation as a condition of employment. In addition, by accepting, you certify that you are not currently employed by, nor are you on the seniority list of any other carrier.

You will be required to disclose to the Company in writing any other gainful employment, business or activity that you are currently associated with or participate in that competes in any way with the Company at any time during your employment. You will not assist any other person or organization which is competing with the Company or is preparing to engage in competition with the business or proposed business with the Company. You represent that accepting this offer letter in commencing your employment with the Company under the terms herein will not violate any agreement currently in place between yourself and the current or past employers.

 

[DropTank]

It's pretty common in tech companies to establish paperwork in the very beginning with an employee that says, "if you invent something with our resources or during time we pay you for, we own it."

Dunno if Delta has something like that - I can't imagine why it would, but this will be interesting.

It’s a mat….with different conclusions you can jump to

Delta had an agreement that said just that...
Anything you invent while at work or not at work will while employed at Delta Airlines will become Delta's property.
It was originally meant for A&P mechanics that commonly make new tools and techniques to ease the workflow and has been expanded to include electronics and software.

Why?
Because they can.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

We’ve got it. If my little company has it, I’d be shocked if Delta doesn’t.

 

[ChasenSFO]

LOL, I immediately thought of Dr. Evil also when I saw the amount. Wow.

Like @killbilly said, the first airline I worked for had me sign something that said if I developed creative content on company time, it was their property if they said so. Well...this whole app revolves around being at work, so...

Maybe Delta doesn't have that clause, I don't know, but OO and WN do.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Now Delta just needs to do their own app process to create an alternative to the airlineapps site that a Delta pilot owns. I’m amazed how much that guy must pull in with that.

"After your tenth year, one year free!"

I believe the article says he did it on his own time and dime?

Doesn't matter (well, it almost certainly doesn't). Welcome to America, where all honor, glory, power, and ideas belong to the Company, for ever and ever, amen.

 

[MikeD]

Doesn't matter (well, it almost certainly doesn't). Welcome to America, where all honor, glory, power, and ideas belong to the Company, for ever and ever, amen.

All your ideas are belong to us?

 

[Autothrust Blue]

All your ideas are belong to us?

Yet another thing that I mildly disagree with about corporate 'merica, but yes, that's substantially it.

The only employer I have had that I can think of that did not assert ownership of stuff I developed that wasn't necessarily within my job description was the California State University system, now that I think of it. Edited to add that we had some sort of way to discuss it, and that I -think?- the Board of Trustees and I jointly held copyrights etc. if I developed anything on work time.

Otherwise:

And: