ol212 said:
Right. I live in Russia in St.Petersburg, and I am a web designer.
I did those two web sites for Mr. Swiss, but he didn't pay me.
The first two versions on the russian servers were the testing versions, but after he changed all the FTP passwords and denied my access, they became a separated versions.
Doesn't it sound like he stolen web sites?
I applied for my copyrigt rights, and once it would be register in a few months I am going to claim to the curt.
Regards, Ol
Your performance is a work for hire. According to the copyright law in USA, the owner of the copyright is the owner of the product not the developer of the product. You may get the registration of the copyright, I presume with the library of Congress in USA, but that with the presumption that you are the owner of the copyright. In court proceedings you will have to prove that you own the copyright, a certificate of registration isn’t enough for that purpose.
Mr. Swiss is entitled to deny you access to his server. That does not constitute a theft of your work, or your website. You do not have a “theft” claim against him. You may have a claim he did not pay you your fees. For that to be actionable in the court you will have to prove that you have a contract with Mr. Swiss. If you do not have a written contract with Mr. Swiss, forget about the whole thing. If he is a person of integrity he will pay you something.
If you have a contract with Mr. Swiss stating clearly of obligations of both parties, it must be dated and signed by both parties in USA. If it is not signed in USA and you live in Russia, and you performed your work in Russia, a court in USA cannot accept a jurisdiction on the matter except perhaps under the long arm jurisdiction. Do you have any idea how much it costs to make such a lawsuit in USA? If your fees are just a few thousand dollars, you better get the whole thing behind you and go on with your life. This should help you to learn how to do business at distance.
