The fightin' Winklevii have had a tough few days. Ex-Harvard president Larry Summers called Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss "a**holes" earlier this week, and on Friday a federal judge in Boston dismissed their last-ditch effort to prove Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the world's biggest social networking site.
The Winklevoss twins and their and their business partner Divya Narendra claim that Zuckerberg stole the idea for what became Facebook while all four were students at Harvard. A legal battle between the trio and Zuckerberg eventually netted Narendra and the Winklevoss twins a 2008 settlement valued at $65 million in cash and Facebook stock that is likely worth much more today.
But the Winklevosses and Narendra have since attempted to pull out of that deal, claiming that their right to an ownership stake in Facebook still stands. Though they've been repeatedly shot down in the courts, the three Harvard alums have continued to fight their legal battle against Zuckerberg and Facebook.
The Boston case concerned the trio's claim that Facebook suppressed relevant instant messages and other information during the 2008 settlement negotiations. Friday's decision by U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock to dismiss the case may spell the end of the trio's effort to win in court what their own ConnectU social network couldn't do in the marketplace—defeat Zuckerberg.
In June, when a Ninth Circuit appeals court in San Francisco dismissed a separate claim that Facebook wasn't up front about its internal valuation during the settlement proceedings, the Winklevosses and Narendra said they wouldn't appeal that decision with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Winklevoss twins and their partner have yet to comment on Friday's decision in Boston, according to reports, but the legal road ahead for the trio looks as close to hitting a dead end as it has since they began their multi-year crusade.