What Are Software Author's Rights For Recognition?

DarkEdgeX asks: "I used to work for a .com company as a software engineer, and worked on a product that was to be distributed for free over the Internet. We parted on pretty bad terms, but the product was basically finished except for a few minor tweaks (less than 4-5 lines of code). Now I see this product on the Internet and on major download sites, but in the field for 'author,' it lists one of my ex-co-workers who barely worked on the product at all. Do I have any legal recourse to force my former employer to give me credit for my work? I wouldn't care normally, but I was proud of the work I did. Personally, I think software authors should be able to force former employers to give credit where credit is due."