What would you do if you spent ages writing some code for another guy, he promises to give you credit and credit is what you only want, some months later the credit you agreed on disappears mysteriously!
Whatever provisions are in the contract! It was a private email exchange, several months later when I complained about my credit being removed he responded by publishing my source code at a public forum.
If there are any provisions in this exchange that could legally be considered a contract, then it's legally binding. As the programmer I have copyrights
Not if you surrender them to a third party. OH and I got no money so how would I pay him if required by the courts?
Depends on the country. Usually they will repossess all your property and sell it at an auction. should I spend $45,000 enforcing it only to have his open source program re-appear at another site.
Yes. If you want to defend your rights, that's exactly what you should do. I seriously doubt that after he's lost his house to pay for your legal fees, he's going to fuck with you again.