Facebook Wins Dismissal Of Second Winklevoss Case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook Inc won a dismissal of a second lawsuit by the Olympic rowing twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who have sought to increase their $65 million settlement with the social media company and its founder Mark Zuckerberg.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston dismissed the case on Friday, one month after the Winklevosses abandoned a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of an April ruling against them by a California federal appeals court.

A day after the June 22 decision not to appeal, the twins and their business partner Divya Narendra asked Woodlock for permission to investigate whether Facebook had suppressed evidence during settlement talks over their claims that Zuckerberg stole their idea for what became Facebook.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Comments

[ElBruce]

06:11 PM on 07/25/2011

I have an idea - let's cure cancer. There, now if anybody cures cancer I can sue them for all the money.

[Carlos CeeCee]

09:42 AM on 07/25/2011

Greed is something I tell you. $65 million is not enough now? They should just be happy they got that much and move on.

By the way if anyone wants to know who holds the record for the most likes on Facebook then check this out. I was surprised.

http://tips21.com/most-likes-on-a-facebook-status.html

[bearchao]

12:43 AM on 08/02/2011

SPAM

[mamala4]

07:13 PM on 07/24/2011

$65 mil is not enough? And the greed continues....

[kdlaiusa]

01:22 AM on 07/26/2011

Not enough, they want it to go down to half of that after lawyers' fees.

[abuckley23]

11:53 AM on 07/24/2011

Third time lucky? You know they'll be back... like a police academy sequel.

[CaroleK1970]

10:37 AM on 07/24/2011

what ever happened to that guy who had the contract for a huge portion of facebook?

[INSIPID]

11:59 AM on 07/24/2011

He got 1.5 billion. About what he would of got if he stuck with it. It was a pretty fair settlement all the way around. He got a lot more because he deserved it. Winklevoss' got "go away" money because they deserved it.

The fact that only one group is still suing proves Summers' right.

[Wuud52]

08:10 PM on 07/23/2011

How about this... Use the $65 Million to start your own business and grow it into a successful enterprise instead of being greedy and trying to live your spoiled lives off of the Facebook gravy train...

[MichaelMcKLA]

03:18 AM on 07/24/2011

Excellent idea. The Winklevii are really obnoxious spoiled brats. Geez...........

[jwmellott]

05:34 PM on 07/23/2011

Good to know HP is covering the very important facebook wars.
Here's an article you won't see here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2017818/Embryos-involving-genes-animals-mixed-humans-produced-secretively-past-years.html

[Basselope]

03:38 PM on 07/24/2011

We need more research like this!

[roc-o-rama]

05:31 PM on 07/23/2011

That's the problem, with GREED, your appetite never subsides. These two need to stick to paddling up the creek or get a real job!

[thesedarkages]

06:18 PM on 07/23/2011

Rich people suck

[CaptainPicard]

06:31 PM on 07/23/2011

Right. They are greedy and Mark Z is a model for humility, chastity, charity and kindness toward them and the rest of humanity he is placating with his failed attempt at creating real intimacy among people. Please....

[roc-o-rama]

07:20 PM on 07/23/2011

I had no opinion about Mark Zuckerberg and his fortune or success in my post. He's very bright, young and a real innovator who came from modest means unlike the Winklevoss twins who expect they deserved a slice of his pie for an idea they presumably had. Shoulda', coulda', wooulda'.

[Raboom1]

02:47 PM on 07/23/2011

The Winkelvii are the greediest people ever! It's really disgusting. I wish they'd just go away.

[NunyaBus99]

01:41 PM on 07/23/2011

Like another poster stated having an idea and actually executing on the idea are 2 different things. Someone can say hey i have an idea to create a solar chip that will utilize 99% of the suns energy but doesn't have the intellectual capacity to create such a chip. A person hears that and actually develops it and patents this new chip. Does the original person who had the idea have the right to collect any money? In my opinion no. This person didn't have the means to make it come to reality.

[kaj74]

02:49 PM on 07/23/2011

What you are referring to is called intellectual property, and I disagree. An individual may be smart enough to engineer the actual product but not be creative enough to have the idea. The person who had the idea shouldn't be cut out because they lack ingenuity.
If we were to do away with intellectual property rights no movie, book, or scientific idea would ever be safe.

[NunyaBus99]

03:11 PM on 07/23/2011

That is fine and we can disagree. Many people have ideas and actually never do a thing about it. Does this mean that someone else can't do it? Other than a basic idea there is no detail to how it would be brought to fruition. If you had the idea then copyrighted it for a website then that is different. I don't think that is the case here.
In cases of a solar chip i don't think you could protect yourself without something to submit to the patent office. It is like search engines. There are multiple ones out there while someone had the original idea, others acted on it in their own way and their own code to make it work.

Movies, books all have protections in place but you can't tell me even within those areas the basic premise of many books are the same. Like Armageddon and deep impact. Both movies deal with comet / asteroid about hitting the earth. The detail is just different.

With facebook, sure the initial premise might have been similar to those of the other guys but those other guys didn't even have detail to show how they would even get to their product.

[A Dub]

12:56 PM on 07/23/2011

About 12 years ago I worked for a company that wanted me to sign a contract that basically said whatever idea i even thought about on or off the job belonged to them. So I had an idea to quit and then I gave it to them.

[PoorRichardsHeartache]

05:00 PM on 07/24/2011

I have been on both sides of this. Consider, the company is paying you for your time and attention to their business needs. If you have an idea that relates to improving the company, it is nothing more than you are being paid to do. I would guess you had a hard time finding any position of responsibility that didnt include this type of contract.

[A Dub]

01:33 PM on 07/25/2011

No, i did not have a problem. Standard non disclosure agreements and those are fine. If i think of something that helps the company I work for of course I would assist/share with them. If I develop anything on my own in my own time that is not reflective of the company I work for then it belongs to me.

[hungrypilot]

11:53 PM on 07/22/2011

Better luck next time!

[karen lyons kalmenson]

09:55 PM on 07/22/2011

twinkle twinkle
winklevoss
at least for now
zuckerberg
is the boss

[roc-o-rama]

05:30 PM on 07/23/2011

That was too witty not to Fan & Fav, Thanks!

[karen lyons kalmenson]

11:30 PM on 07/23/2011

You are welcome :-D

[Blind WatchMan]

07:43 AM on 07/24/2011

F&F

[karen lyons kalmenson]

05:39 PM on 07/24/2011

thank you:-D

[oftenon]

08:58 PM on 07/22/2011

There is idea, and there is execution. Claiming authorship of an idea insufficiently formed to recognize its actualization is artfully debatable, but it's not ownership. Take your 65 mil, fellas, go away and enjoy it.

[SuperBenFranklin]

07:27 PM on 07/22/2011

Must suck to create a company like that, and everyone knows you stole the idea.

But in his defense... the twins would of avoided all of this with a simple employee/contractor agreement. I mean, what were they thinking hiring someone without it?

[mrdysgo]

07:46 AM on 07/23/2011

Oh yea, I am sure Mark is sitting there right now, head in hands, completely distraught. The guy made FB what it is - end of story.

[knight7se7en]

11:53 AM on 07/23/2011

He did not steal the idea. He was presented with an idea and produced a better one.