Facebook paid $65m (£45m) to squash allegations that its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, stole the idea that has grown to become the world’s largest social networking site, with more than 150 million users, it has been revealed.The site was sued in 2004 by ConnectU, a company founded by former friends of Zuckerberg at Harvard. A deal was agreed last year, but until now its terms had been secret. Divya Narendra and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss claimed Zuckerberg had worked on their concept of a social networking website for students at America’s oldest university, and stolen the idea to build his version. ConnectU said it deserved a substantial slice of the credit for Facebook, claiming it was worth $15bn.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/13/facebook-inventor-claim-payout
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/12/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-ex-classmatesFacebook, ConnectU reportedly reach $65 million settlement
Facebook Inc. reportedly paid out $65 million to settle a lawsuit filed against it by the founders of ConnectU Inc. The suit had charged that Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg pilfered their business ideas while a student at Harvard University.Facebook and ConnectU had agreed to a confidential settlement last year.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127805
Facebook pays $65m to settle rival’s claim
Facebook paid $65m (£45m) to squash allegations that its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, stole the idea that has grown to become the world’s largest social networking site, with more than 150 million users, it has been revealed.