tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post8750012937363080130..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: The Winklevosses vs. FacebookHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-6483669840001802672011-02-11T04:18:01.862-08:002011-02-11T04:18:01.862-08:00Thanks for the comments, and thanks to Phil Malone...Thanks for the comments, and thanks to Phil Malone for pointing people here. I I was using "steal" not in its legal meaning -- more in the sense a guy will complain that another guy "stole" his girlfriend. I tend to think (yes, I am hedging) that the Winklevosses' claim has about as much moral foundation. IANAL so I haven't a clue about the legal claim.<br /><br />One of the difficulties I face when sorting this out is that I admire humility. I always root for the guy who will tell you it is not about him. I love sports and hate endzone celebrations. My sympathies always go to the guy whose response to anything is to give credit to the team or to those who went before. I search this tale in vain for such a character, not that that makes it different from almost any other modern drama.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-74436871386672633502011-02-10T18:28:06.169-08:002011-02-10T18:28:06.169-08:00Thanks for this interesting historical take, thoug...Thanks for this interesting historical take, though it's a shame you ended on such a whimper:<br /><br />"...whether Zuckerberg "stole" the Winklevosses' idea. I tend to think he didn't."<br /><br />As you (nearly) pointed out, you can't "steal" ideas anyhow -- and not just in the academic "theft vs. infringement" sense. You can't even so much as "infringe" on an idea because you can attain neither copyright nor patent to it (overly broad business method patents not withstanding, but that's neither here nor there for this story). If there's a protected IP category of "idea" that'd be news to me.<br /><br />I can't fathom how the twins were able to squeeze a dime out of Facebook. It still makes me a little sick just thinking about it, and frankly, I couldn't care less about Facebook or Zuckerberg.Dean landolthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09979178191779799115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-15815682429537914952011-02-10T18:04:19.440-08:002011-02-10T18:04:19.440-08:00I first encountered Facebook at UCSB, when it was ...I first encountered Facebook at UCSB, when it was still a university-only thing. It was explained to me roughly this way: "It's like a live yearbook that anybody can update any time."<br /><br />Facebook was so grounded in college life that there was lots of skepticism and blowback when Mark opened its services to the world. But obviously this was a good idea. It was also not the Winkelvoss's idea. Facebook's success today is owed almost entirely to work done in the years since the service expanded beyond the college setting that Mark and the Winkelvoss brothers shared. And, as Larry Lessig makes clear here -- http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/78081/sorkin-zuckerberg-the-social-network?page=0,1 -- to the Internet itself.<br /><br />I don't know if Larry Summers actually said to the Winkelvosses what his character said in the Social Network script, but for me it was the best moment in the movie. Basically he told them to stop whining and move on. If they have a good business idea, go make it happen.<br /><br />They still have that opportunity, at least while the Internet is still open and free.<br /><br />Doc SearlsUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13931662695110191059noreply@blogger.com