Judge questions theft claims of Facebook rival

A federal judge said he needed more information concerning allegations that the founder of Facebook stole software code and business plans from the creators of a rival social networking site. US District Judge Douglas Woodlock told attorneys for ConnectU founders they needed to substantiate claims that Mark Zuckerberg …

[Jags]

"Dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract."

"Dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract."

just enjoying this... :)

[Badg3r]

Boston Legal

Reminiscent of one of the Judges on Boston legal, with too much Jibber-Jabber

[Anonymous Coward]

If I have this right...

They had a vebal contract, which holds as much legal water as a seive, to create this networking site. 3 of thm make ConnectU, and the other one makes Facebook. They have no paperwork, and no physical evidence to speak of (maybe code or something), and nothing to say "this is mine, he stole it".

Does the defendant even need to bother showing up for this?

[Scott Mckenzie]

Re: "Dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract."

LOL..

"But she promised she'd do it...."

[Liam]

trade secret?

what is their magical idea?

wow - a social networking site - with messages etc... thats so novel!

surely any number of sites do this well before they even got into harvard!

and what was their business plan?

i) get people to join

ii) make dosh from adverts

erm..... as before not exactly unique is it?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract."

Indeed, and fortunately so for any fresher who has ever said "You know I love you" or "Of course I'll respect you in the morning".

[Angus Cooke]

Case closed!

It looks to me like UConnect are just publicly illustrating their talent for making crap decisions ... ;-)

[Dillon Pyron]

Verbal contracts ...

... aren't worth the paper they're written on.

I've heard similar comments from a judge before. They are so screwed.

"Does the defendant even need to bother showing up for this?"

Yep, but just barely. I wouldn't wear shorts and flip-flops.

[Anonymous Coward]

.. Facebook is great.. but remember the court hearing takes place in the States!

Anywhere else on the planet, I'd have said it was a safe bet... But I wouldn't be surprised if the guy get's stiffed and has to shut the site down..