Updated
Facebook is about to end a lawsuit that’s been a long-time thorn in its side. The social networking site plans to settle with competitor ConnectU for an undisclosed amount, according to the New York Times.
ConnectU’s founders — brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, along with Divya Narendra — had accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea in 2003, while they were all at Harvard. Zuckerberg helped them set up a campus dating site called Harvard Connection, and ConnectU alleged that he stalled the project while stealing ideas and code for what would eventually become Facebook. [Update: VentureBeat DigitalMedia Editor Eric Eldon doesn't think much of the code-stealing accusation, as he explains in the comments.]
It’s important for Facebook to get this suit behind it, particularly if the company plans to make a public offering. The case brought some unflattering details about Zuckerberg to light — some of them casting doubt on his ingenuity and originality, like the disappearance of Facebook’s early code base (which was supposed to be a key part of Facebook’s defense), others just plain awkward and embarrassing, like Zuckerberg’s diary.
The Times says motions to dismiss the case should be filed “within weeks.” Facebook had also filed a suit against ConnectU alleging unfair business practices, and all the motions in that case have been terminated.
It’s hard to say whether Facebook settled because it was genuinely worried, or because it wanted to be rid of a legal nuisance. But the settlement seems to undermine Zuckerberg’s claim that the suit was completely baseless, and we have to wonder how much money is involved.
Tags: co:connectu, co:Facebook6 Comments
-
joe thomas said:
I think you got part of the information wrong. He not only stole ConnectU ideas, but also their actual code. Their code is what made the bulk of the first version of Facebook, which is what makes Zuckerberg a liar and a cheater. Ironically, people blindly adore him. Simply beyond comprehension! Although it’s a known fact what happened, the fact Facebook had mysteriously destroyed/lost all their original code and it’s now settling the lawsuit clearly shows he was guilty from the start.
-
Anthony Ha said:
@joe thomas: Fair point about the code — that was indeed part of ConnectU’s allegations, and I’ve clarified that in the article.
As for the rest of your comment, I agree that there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of Zuckerberg’s story. But to suggest that a settlement “clearly shows he was guilty from the start” is not just wrong, but also silly and irresponsible.
-
Eric Eldon said:
@joe thomas i’ve never really gotten this argument. facebook in its early days was bare-bones php code. php is open-source and building simple features like user profiles is not meaningful IP.
even if zuck’s code was somewhat similar to connectU’s, can’t that be said of any very basic social network built in php?
it’s hard for me to imagine a run-of-the-mill IP agreement covering connectU’s bases here, but maybe you know more.
-
John said:
Guys, whatever it is but this guy Mark did wrong thing by stealing the code and concept of the guys who trusted him with their pet project. As many guys like facebook today, even i do like it but that does not make what Mark did right. Disappearing of a site’s initial codebase is not possible unless its done intentionally. Wherever he initially hosted the site facebook, those hosting providers make daily/weekly backups of your complete code. the owner himself(Mark) keeps backups, especially if you are such an expert like Mark.
The guys supporting him, just think, what if it happened with you? You have an idea, you wrote some code and trusted a fellow student at your university with your code and full plan, and he steals everything from you, not just your idea, but your initial code too.
I know ideas are worth a dime and execution/coding is most important. but he did steal the code too not just the plan and idea.
All the following are just a few of all the things which proves that he did steal not only the idea but the code too.
1) disappearing of facebook’s initial code.
2) facebook agreeing to pay connectU.com to settle the lawsuit.
3) connectu’s claim against facebook from the very begining of facebook.
4) Mark’s working on ConnectU before starting coding on facebook -
Eric Eldon said:
@John. i see your points. and i respectfully still disagree:
1) WHAT original code? I mean, Facebook didn’t even have basic features like poking, the wall and photo albums when it first launched
2) I disagree with your reasoning here, because Facebook may want to just get this monkey off ots back instead of having the case drag on for longer. Innocent defendants settle out of course for this sort of reason all the time.
3) So maybe ConnectU has been jealous since early on.
4) Yeah, I know, it doesn’t look that good, but you do realize that Zuckerberg had also been busy with his own projects, like FaceMash. If ConnectU’s case was so amazingly strong — like if it had paperwork saying that it had rights to Zuckerberg’s work — then it would have won the case long ago. But the case is just sitting there mired in questionable delays… I really doubt that ConnectU has any strong claim here.
-
will said:
so if I stole Jerry Yang and David Filo’s code base for the original Yahoo directory, launched it as Wahoo.com, turned it into a full fledged portal 2 years later, I WOULD NOT BE LIABLE for stealing code since the idea has changed so much and much of the code is unrecognizable?
bad argument . . . its the “I did steal it but I didnt use it” argument that theives use all the time. . .
One Trackback
12:03 am
Court won’t let ConnectU out of Facebook settlement » VentureBeat said:
[...] end to the legal dispute between social networking companies Facebook and ConnectU. The companies reached a confidential settlement earlier this year, but ConnectU’s founders have been trying to back out, saying they’ve [...]