December 31, 2010, 11:40 am

Winklevosses Carry On Crusade Against Facebook

By MIGUEL HELFT

On Thursday, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the cinematic identical twins who claim to have come up with the original idea for Facebook, almost gave up their quest to undo their settlement with the company, as I reported in Friday’s paper. It’s not hard to understand their indecision. They are sitting on a deal whose value has soared along with the steep rise in Facebook shares. By some estimates, the settlement is now worth more than $140 million, so risking that amount for a chance to get more seems, well, risky.

Is $140 million enough of a payday to settle the claim that they came up with an idea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

During the time the Winklevosses were thinking about ending the case, they prepared a statement in which they said they still felt cheated by Facebook but that they were dropping the appeal, in part, because the settlement now had a far larger value than what they originally bargained for, which was $65 million.

In my interview with them earlier this month, they were not prepared to give Mark Zuckerberg credit for the fact that Facebook, and their own settlement, has soared in value.

Now the brothers say they will pursue their case on Jan. 11 before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

Whatever the outcome, the battles over the origins of Facebook may well continue to haunt both the Winklevoss brothers and Facebook.

Wayne Chang, an entrepreneur who teamed with the Winklevosses after the start of Facebook, has filed a lawsuit against them, saying he had part ownership of ConnectU, and is entitled to a portion of the settlement. The Winklevoss brothers refused to comment on Mr. Chang’s contentions.

And Facebook, which previously settled ownership claims made by Eduardo Saverin, a friend of Mr. Zuckerberg and a fellow co-founder of the site, is facing yet another lawsuit about its founding. Paul Ceglia, who last year was arrested and charged with fraud by the New York attorney general for cheating customers of his wood-pellet business, is contending in a New York court that an agreement by Mr. Zuckerberg to do computer work for him entitles him to a large stake in Facebook. Facebook has called the contentions “absurd” and the claims “frivolous.”

71 Readers' Comments

Editor’s Note: Only selected comments included

3. Michael Braun
Madison, WI
December 31st, 2010
2:57 pm / I give this advice every year to my students: if you've got a great idea that you are certain will change the world and hopefully make you a lot of money, get lawyers involved early.

6. RobertB
Phoenix, AZ
December 31st, 2010
2:58 pm / Regarding the Chang claim, this is why it is important to establish a contract, even between friends. It makes it clear who is working for hire (and thus has little/no claim over the end-product), and who is working in partnership. The small stress on a friendship in having to ask for things in writing is nothing compared to the stress on a friendship during a civil trial.
31. Morningsider
New York City
December 31st, 2010
6:44 pm / They did not invent the idea of a social network--and no one gets paid for having an "idea" anyway. Many people have similar ideas, most fail, only a few succeed. The failures then sue the successes! Their sense of entitlement is stunning!
Mike Masnick explains how their suit is a "tax" on innovation. Zuckerberg settled to avoid protracted expensive litigation, not because there was merit to their case. This settlement is the "tax" Zuckerberg had to pay for having been the successful executor of an idea. And now they want to go back on the deal!

From bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/winklevosses-carry-on-crusade-against-facebook/ 21 January 2011