Those former members of the Steem blockchain community who are now maintaining the HIVE project, could have chosen to create their own blockchain from scratch, and sought out their own content creators. Instead, they copied over a million+ accounts full of intellectual property that they did not earn, did not create and did not seek consent to use for financial gain.
If you believe so strongly that you can do better then Steem, by all means, start your own blockchain with the open source code, and make your own rules. You have no right to assume ownership of a million+ accounts that you did not create.
I am contacting the appropriate authorities to inform myself if Steem Authors have grounds for a class action lawsuit. HIVE Witnesses will be the first to be reported, beginning with @blocktrades, as they are a registered for-profit business with a physical address where a cease and desist letter can be delivered, as well as subpoenas served. @blocktrades stands to be the largest benefactor and financier of this illegal use of our intellectual property, as millions of STEEM tokens will be pouring into their coffers over the next several months. This battle may take years, as court cases are never fast nor simple, but I will not sit by and allow a precedent to be set which allows anyone to come along and steal our intellectual property and use it to make a profit. And if HIVE can do it, it can be done to HIVE.
How ironic that Steem was invented to challenge social media giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter, who use our content for financial gain, and now those former Steem members who once pumped their fists like a bunch of obstreperous children, at these corporate social networks, have now stolen all of our intellectual property, and are even boasting about how the HIVE token has overtaken the STEEM token in value, and how much money is going to made from this move; money being made from our intellectual property!
The following HIVE Witnesses are being asked to cease and desist the illegal storing and broadcasting of intellectual property stolen from the million+ Steem Authors that published their content on the Steem blockchain:
@gtg
@good-karma
@roelandp
@blocktrades
@themarkymark
@anyx
@ausbitbank
@steempress
@someguy123
@drakos
@therealwolf
@cervantes
@steempeak
@abit
@yabapmatt
@followbtcnews
@ocd-witness
@aggroed
@lukestokes.mhth
@netuoso
@arcange
@pharesim
@emrebeyler
@stoodkev
@thecryptodrive
@curie
@timcliff
@riverhead
@liondani
@actifit
@smooth.witness
@jesta
@pfunk
@nextgencrypto
@quochuy
@guiltyparties
@bhuz
@mahdiyari
@c-squared
@ats-witness
@holger80
@neoxian
@oflyhigh
@clayop
@kevinwong
@steemitboard
@jackmiller
@firepower
@threespeak
@c0ff33a
@blockbrothers
@ura-soul
@patrice
@delegate.lafona
@busy.witness
@qurator
@fyrst-witness
@bobinson
@wise-team
@stem.witness
@crowdwitness
@dragosroua
@klye
@r0nd0n
@coingecko
@aizensou
@steemychicken1
@reggaemuffin
@b0y2k
@utopian-io
@steemgigs
@xeldal
@complexring
@isnochys
@justyy
@satren
@enginewitty
@ihashfury
@rotfl
@adsactly-witness
@teamsteem
@dsound
@partiko
@jerrybanfield
@wehmoen
@furion
@silversteem
@steemhunt
@steemed
@gerber
@lux-witness
@wackou
@techcoderx
@oracle-d
@dmitrydao
@prc
@chitty
@deathwing
@bue
@ro-witness
This list was taken from https://hiveblocks.com/witnesses
If you are not running a node for the HIVE blockchain, my sincerest apologies; I will remove you from the list.