12 | April | 2011 | AfriQtalk Diaspora

The Winklevosses say Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for a social network site

A US appeals court has ruled that twin brothers who say the idea for Facebook was stolen from them by Mark Zuckerberg cannot back out of a settlement deal they made with the website, reports the BBC.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss had asked in January to re-open a $65m (£42m) legal settlement signed in 2008.

The twins say Zuckerberg stole their idea after he was hired by them to code their ConnectU site in 2003.

The court said it saw no reason to re-open their case against Facebook.

Facebook has rejected the brothers’ claims.

“The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace,” three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges said in the ruling.

“At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached,” the judges said.

The Winklevosses have argued that Zuckerberg, who attended Harvard with them, took the code for their social networking website and launched Facebook with it in 2004.

Facebook agreed to a 2008 settlement to end “rancorous litigation” but did not admit Zuckerberg had taken the twins’ idea.

The Winklevosses received $20m in cash and $45m worth of stock valued at $36 per share in the deal.

“For whatever reason, they now want to back out… Like the district court, we see no basis for allowing them to do so,” the judges said, referring to the settlement deal.

The legal team representing the Winklevosses has not yet commented on Monday’s ruling.

Zuckerberg has always maintained that Facebook was his creation.

The lawsuit over Facebook was dramatised in the film The Social Network, which was nominated for best picture at the Oscars.

Today Facebook is the world’s biggest social network with more than 500m users, and Zuckerberg is one of the world’s youngest billionaires.

On April 12, 2011 In Vanguard Headlines

Lagos – The Dangote Group says it will invest 3.9 billion dollars (N585 billion) in the expansion of its cement plants in some Africa countries.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the company, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos while signing an agreement between his company and a Chinese firm, Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd.

He said that the expansion project, expected to be completed in 2013, would produce additional 16.5 million tonnes of cement to achieve a target of 50 million tonnes in the next two years.

Dangote, represented by Mr Devakumar Edwin, the company’s Group Executive Director ( Business Development), said that the projects included installation of equipment, mining, quarry and power facilities, among others.

“Cement plants with installed capacity of 1.5 million tonnes each per year will be constructed in countries like Tanzania, Gabon and Republic of Congo.

“South Africa, Ibese and Obajana cement plants will each produce additional new lines of three million tonnes while the grinding plant in Cameroon is targeted at producing 1.5 million tonnes annually.

“The agreement signed today is for production of additional three million tonnes each from the existing plants in Obajana, Ibese and other plants,” he said.

Dangote said that the group was targeting the production of 20 million tonnes of cement before the end of 2011 from the plants.

He said that the new projects would provide over 40,000 additional jobs to truck drivers that would have multiplier effects on the nation’s economy and wealth creation.

Dangote said that the group was exploring many other power sources to save cost.

“In Senegal, we use coal to power the plant and we import the coal from South Africa. We use gas and hydro-power plant where they are available,” he said..

Mr Wu Shoufu, President of the Chinese firm, said that the agreement would strengthen business growth in the two countries.

Shoufu said that the expansion of cement plants in Africa by Dangote Group would make the region to achieve self sufficiency in cement production soon. (NAN)