ConnectU v. Mark Zuckerberg & The Facebook

    DisputeSoft was engaged as a software expert by ConnectU in the matter of ConnectU LLC v. Mark Zuckerberg and The Facebook, Inc. ConnectU alleged that Zuckerberg misappropriated ConnectU’s trade secrets – specifically, its ideas for a social networking website.

    Divya Narendra, Cameron Winklevoss, and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of the social networking website ConnectU, allege that Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg breached an oral contract to develop ConnectU and used their source code and idea to create TheFacebook.com.

    DisputeSoft intellectual property software expert Jeff Parmet was engaged in 2005 by ConnectU LLC to compare its source code to the source code of The Facebook and to determine the validity of these claims. DisputeSoft compared source code of the two sites, evaluated prior art, and reached determinations regarding substantially similar code and expression of ideas. Significant computer forensic and electronic discovery issues were also addressed as part of Mr. Parmet’s work.

    This highly publicized case ended after seven years, when in April 2011 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a settlement agreement on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and a related lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts was dismissed in July 2011.

    Jeff Parmet

    Jeff Parmet (1946 – 2023)

    Founder & Chief Advisor (2003 - 2023)

    Jeff Parmet was a widely respected IT dispute resolution specialist who served as a con…

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    J. Todd Trivett

    Managing Director

    Todd Trivett is a recognized industry expert in Information Technology, providing consu…

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    DisputeSoft provides trade secret misappropriation services to law firms engaged in complex software disputes.

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