Entrepreneurs in Pakistan accused of source code theft cleared of any wrongdoing

Photo credit: Yuri Samollov.

Four members of a startup arrested on charges of infringing on intellectual property rights have been exonerated of any wrongdoing.

The startup in question was Investors Lounge, a portal for budding investors to see updated financial data on things like stocks, mutual funds, and commodities in Pakistan. The team was incubated at Google-backed The Nest I/O.

Court documents obtained by Tech in Asia reveal that the judge shelved the case citing a lack of evidence against Baqar Abbas Jafri, Sennen D’Souza, Hammad Ali Hashmi, and Waqar Ehsan. The case, however, can still go to trial if the prosecution brings forth additional evidence to support its allegations.

He accused the men of taking the source code with them.

The complainant in the case, Mir Mohammad Ali Khan, CEO of AMZ MAK Capital, had argued that the four individuals – his former employees – were tasked with building a social media platform for investors. Mir Mohammad maintained that the founders quit his firm after the platform was ready and took the source code along with them – a violation of their agreement.

Baqar, CEO of Investors Lounge, insists that the original idea and development was entirely the effort of his team. His professional association with Mir Mohammad started in 2013 when the two parties met to discuss terms for a potential investment.

Despite lengthy negotiations, the two never inked a formal agreement which would allow AMZ MAK Capital to acquire a stake in Investors Lounge, according to Baqar. At the same time, the young founders of Investors Lounge began to feel uneasy about working with the former investment banker and decided to withdraw completely.

The eventual lawsuit and claims of theft came as a complete surprise, explained Baqar.

Investors Lounge has filed separate defamation cases against Mir Mohammad and obtained an injunction preventing his firm from claiming ownership of the product until the next date of hearing.