The concept of intellectual property is essential to the plot of The Social Network, as it is a driving factor in major conflicts. As discussed in the textbook, Ethics of the Information Age by Michael Quinn, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, intellectual property "refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce." The concept of Facebook is intellectual property as it is a unique idea for a specific type of website.
The Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra claim Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea of a website like Facebook. As of fall 2003, the group has been funding and working on a project called HarvardConnection, a social media website exclusively for Harvard students. Individuals could create their own profile with a bio and pictures and connect with their friends. The Winklevoss’ and Narendra recently lost their programmer to other ventures. They noticed Mark Zuckerberg in the news for Facemash, a website that allowed visitors to choose who was more attractive between two Harvard girls. As expected, the website cause controversary, but the Winklevoss’ observed Zuckerberg to be skillful and perfect for their project. They explained HarvardConnection to Mark and supposedly, he verbally agreed to work on the project. The source code was shared to Zuckerberg. However, progress was slow, with Zuckerberg’s time being taken by other commitments, as he explained vaguely to the HarvardConnection group through emails. Narendra and the Winklevoss’ were exasperated when Zuckerberg released TheFacebook in early 2004, a social media website only for individuals with a Harvard.edu email. They felt like Zuckerberg took advantage of them, stole their concept, and stole their source code. HarvardConnection, now ConnectU, filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg and TheFacebook, claiming intellectual property theft. This is even though they had no trademarks, patents, etc. They instead argued on a breach of agreement. The Winklevoss twins and Narendra eventually reached a settlement of $65 million dollars and signed an NDA.
Eduardo Saverin is a cofounder of Facebook and was the original financial supporter of the website. Being an economics major and the president of the Harvard Investment Association, Zuckerberg believed Saverin would be an exceptional CFO of the startup. He invested $1,000 into the website and then an additional $18,000 in spring 2004 after Facebook saw success. During summer 2004, TheFacebook team rented a house in Palo Alto, California using Saverin's initial investments. However, Saverin stayed in New York City looking for advertisers. During this summer, the team grew apart from Saverin and built a relationship with Sean Parker, a founder of the popular audio file sharing service, Napster. Saverin was also angry with Zuckerberg for using his money for personal expenses in California. Parker helped make a connection with investor Peter Thiel, which initiated the major breakthrough for the company. Zuckerberg and the team still did not keep a close connection with Saverin. With the help of Thiel's investment team, Zuckerberg diluted Saverin's stock without consulting him. Understandably, when Eduardo realized what happened he was extremely frustrated and filed a lawsuit against Facebook concerning the expense of his money and dilution of his stock. Although this is more of a case of fiduciary duty, there is still an aspect of intellectual property as Saverin claims he was essential to the development of Facebook. He is a founder and gave input into the creation of the website. Eduardo Saverin received a settlement for an undisclosed amount.