February 28, 2013

A man claiming he came up with the idea for Snapchat has filed a lawsuit against the founders of the mobile application in California.

In the lawsuit, he alleges that the other founders of the popular mobile app no longer let him be a part of the company, despite the fact that he was the one who had the idea for the mobile app. The man filed the lawsuit to have his rights restored and is seeking any damages that he is owed from the success of the mobile app.

According to the lawsuit, after the man came up with the idea for Snapchat, he started working with two other students who helped work on the mobile app. In 2011, the three moved into together and worked on creating Snapchat, which was originally called "Picaboo."

After the mobile app was released, the three eventually no longer got along, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the other two men who worked on the app stopped communicating with the plaintiff. They also changed the passwords to the mobile app's accounts and servers to keep the other founder out. The lawsuit alleges that a month after this happened Snapchat was released, which was the original Picaboo mobile app just under a new name.

Snapchat has become a very popular mobile app. Snapchat allows users take photos and videos and send them to other users. After the user opens and views the content, the photo or video disappears within a few seconds. The mobile app was even recently copied by Facebook because of how popular it has become.

This case is an example of the legal action that can be taken if a business idea was stolen from you or if business partners have not allowed you to maintain your rights in a company. Individuals with questions over when other people can be held legally accountable for their business actions should consult a business law attorney to discuss their specific case.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "South Carolina man sues Snapchat, says he came up with the idea," Salvado Rodriguez, Feb. 25, 2013