Facebook Dispute: It's Not Just Business, It's Personal

The Harvard grad accusing Mark Zuckerberg of stealing the source code and business plan for Facebook seethed with anger discussing his lawsuit against Zuckerberg, in an exclusive interview with Portfolio.com

"We were shocked and in utter disbelief," Tyler Winklevoss said, describing his reaction when Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004. Zuckerberg, Winklevoss said, had done so after promising to help build Harvard Connection, now known as ConnectU. "This was our idea, and Mark stole it."

Winklevoss spoke about the long-running lawsuit from Rio de Janeiro, where he and his twin brother Cameron are rowing crew for the United States in the Pan Am Games.

The Winklevoss brothers have been battling Zuckerberg in court since late 2004, claiming that he ripped off the source code, design, and business plan for Facebook from them while they were students at Harvard. The next court hearing will be in Boston on July 25, as earlier reported on Portfolio.com

In March, the Winklevoss original lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice. The brothers promptly filed a new lawsuit, which is pending.

Zuckerberg has denied the brothers' claims and has filed a countersuit in federal court in California accusing them of tort violations and unfair business practices.

Winklevoss said Zuckerberg was brought on board as the fourth partner of the Harvard Connection team, in addition to Cameron and Divya Narendra, with the understanding that they would spilt potential revenues equally.

Winklevoss described Zuckerberg's actions as "premeditated, well thought out, duplicitous and conniving."

Winklevoss said he and his brother are prepared to pursue the lawsuit without regard to legal fees. "We've been pursuing this since Facebook had 200 users," Winklevoss said "We are fully prepared to go all the way."

"The hard questions are coming, and Mark is not going to have an answer for them," Winklevoss said. "He messed with the wrong guys."

Sam Gustin