And why authorship, licensing, and silent power struggles matter more than ever
For over 16 years, I worked as an independent contractor for a company serving over 100 U.S. community banks. In late 2022, I developed a new proprietary WordPress-based platform called BankSITE® Builder Pro (BBPro) — a complete system I solely architected, maintained, and extended.
While I had a long-standing working relationship with the company, there was never a written license, copyright assignment, or transfer of ownership. I built BBPro independently — and I retained the rights.
There was no written contract, no license agreement, and no copyright assignment.
So when the company behind BBPro cut ties with me and continued using, modifying, and marketing the system — I realized I had to assert my rights as the original author.
🧠 Why Authorship Matters
Under U.S. copyright law, if you build software as an independent contractor, and no written agreement transfers ownership, you retain full copyright.
That means:
- You own the code
- You control licensing
- Others can’t use it without your permission — even if they paid for your services
I've since registered the BBPro core framework with the U.S. Copyright Office.
(Case #: 1-14944175091)
🔍 The Tool I Built
To protect the integrity of my work — and help banks understand what version they’re running — I created a public BBPro version checker:
It scans any public-facing site using BBPro and returns:
- The version number
- Whether it’s officially supported
- And whether it may be operating without a valid license
🚨 Why This Matters for Banks
If your institution is using a version of BBPro without a valid license, this introduces real-world risk:
- Legal exposure
- Compliance issues (especially under GLBA, ADA, and vendor contracts)
- Technical instability due to lack of updates or authorship support
Banks don’t just need functioning websites.
They need verified, supportable, and legally compliant platforms.
💼 For Developers and Builders
This is also a reminder to every WordPress developer and contractor:
- Own your authorship
- Don’t assume verbal agreements are enough
- Keep Git commit history, contracts, invoices, and private repos
- Register copyright when necessary
📣 The Future of BBPro
BBPro is no longer licensed to BankSITE® Services. That fact is now public, documented, and legally reinforced.
If you're an institution using the platform — or a vendor exploring alternatives — transparency matters more than ever.
I’ve made my position public at https://codever.io, on GitHub, and through tools like this version checker.
This isn’t about revenge.
It’s about authorship, ethics, and protecting the people who depend on good software.
🔗 Check your site: https://bbpro.dev/
📖 Read the full background: https://codever.io/banksite-services-bbpro-license-terminated
💼 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bojan-josifoski-36197064
🔐 GitHub: https://github.com/codeverbojan
BankSITE® is a registered trademark of The Forms Group, Inc.
BBPro is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Forms Group or BankSITE® Services.
This article is for educational and informational purposes only.
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