[citation][nom]trumpeter1994[/nom] it seems reasonable that he had the right to code he developed so long as it wasn't signed off as copyrighted property of the bank before he left. [/citation]
Not necessarily. Most companies have in their paperwork you sign to worth there that states anything you develop on their clock is their property, which is probably why this case went this far to begin with.
If i leave my current job, you can bet i'll take my programming code with me.... you spend hours trying to resolve issues, it seems dumb not to keep your work, your portfolio with you. I totally understand why the guy would want a copy of his work after leaving. What if 3 months down the road you need to do something you did at the old job? why re-write when you can copy/paste?
But also, "multiple copies?" That's vague, and could be misinterpreted, did he have multiple instances of downloaded code (ie multiple projects) or multiple copies on separate DVDs .. that would suggest intent to distribute. I'd have to get into the case file to really form a concrete opinion on that matter
anyways, happy coding all... knowing Joe Bob may be able to just take your code one day lol