（路透舊金山 26 日電 中央社 翻譯）
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco, California, October 17, 2007. REUTERS/Kimberly White
根據今天公佈的法院文件，Facebook今天同意支付金額不明的現金及股票，就有關創辦人祖克柏（Mark Zuckerberg ）是否剽竊哈佛大學同學創意、纏鬥已久的訴訟案，進行和解。
根據這份法院文件，本案各方2月達成一項暫時性協議。羞赧但身價數十億美元的24歲企業家祖克柏，遭哈佛大學同學及曾可望入選美國奧運划船隊的卡麥隆溫克勒佛斯（ Cameron Winklevoss ）及泰勒溫克勒佛斯（Tyler Winklevoss ）兄弟指控剽竊創意。
這項和解協議因為溫克勒佛斯之後提起異議而遭到拖延，他們主張這項和解不完全，而且Facebook沒有公佈有關祖克柏行為的重要文件，有詐欺行為。
加州北區地方法院法官華倫（James Ware）今天駁回這些指控，並判決這項和解是可行的，並命令此案相關各方7月2日出庭，以決定如何執行這項協議。
Facebook 原本的線上版本是給哈佛大學大一新生的照片介紹，讓他們更熟悉同學。過去四年，Facebook 允許網友與特定友人分享私密資料，在全球受到爆炸性歡迎，蔚為風潮。
指控的關鍵在於祖克柏大二時，受雇於溫克勒佛斯兄弟及第三名合夥人為「哈佛聯結」 （Harvard Connection）網站撰寫程式，祖克柏被控剽竊他們的創意來創立 Facebook。
透過這份和解，Facebook 實際上同意以現金與普通股，併購哈佛連結改組之後的公司 ConnectU。哈佛連結由溫克勒佛斯兄弟及合夥人納蘭德拉（Divya Narendra）所創辦。
和解條件密而不宣，溫克勒佛斯、納蘭德拉及 ConnectU 同意不再提起告訴。法院同意不透露和解的財務條件。
路透社原文新聞連結
Judge backs Facebook deal in suit over origins
By Eric Auchard
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of cash and stock to settle a long- running legal battle over whether founder Mark Zuckerberg stole ideas for the site from fellow Harvard students, according to court documents released late on Wednesday.
The parties in the case -- which pitted Zuckerberg, a shy 24-year-old entrepreneur now worth billions of dollars, against former Harvard classmates and one-time U.S. Olympic team rowing hopefuls Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss -- agreed to a tentative settlement deal in February, according to the court papers.
The settlement agreement was delayed by a subsequent challenge by the Winklevosses, who argued the deal was incomplete and that Facebook had committed fraud by failing to disclose crucial documents related to Zuckerberg's actions.
On Wednesday, Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected those claims and ruled the settlement is enforceable and ordered the parties to a July 2 hearing to determine how to carry out the deal.
Facebook, begun as an online version of the introductory picture book first-year students at Harvard received to get acquainted with fellow students, has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon over the past four years for allowing Web users to share private details with a select group of their friends.
The dispute centered on accusations Zuckerberg copied ideas for Facebook after being hired as a Harvard University sophomore by the Winklevoss brothers and a third partner to write code for a site called Harvard Connection.
Through the settlement, Facebook effectively agreed to buy ConnectU, the successor company to Harvard Connection founded by the Winklevoss brothers, partner Divya Narendra, for cash and common stock.
Terms of the deal were confidential and the Winklevosses, Narendra and ConnectU agreed to make no future claims. The court agreed to seal the financial terms of the settlement.
Among the claims made by the Winklevosses in seeking to derail the settlement was that their father, Howard Winklevoss, an owner of a one percent share in ConnectU, had not been party to the agreement. Judge Ware ruled that, as a minor shareholder, his agreement to the settlement was unnecessary.
A spokesman for Facebook said the settlement deal, once finalized, would end separate, but related cases the two sides had been pursuing in courts in Boston and San Jose.
"The ConnectU founders understood the deal they made, and we are gratified that the Court rejected their false allegations of fraud," Facebook said in a statement. "Their challenge was simply a case of 'buyers remorse,' as described by the Boston Court earlier this month."
Facebook said it believed one factor holding up a settlement is a separate dispute between the Winklevosses and their original team of lawyers over their handling of the case. Facebook said it considered the ConnectU dispute closed.
Facebook had counter-sued, accusing the plaintiffs of breaking into its computers to steal member lists.
These lawsuits were first filed in September 2004 by the Winklevosses and ConnectU against Facebook, Zuckerberg and his co-founders. It alleged breach of contract and that Zuckerberg misappropriated trade secrets, among other complaints.
Thefacebook.com, as it was then known, was set up in early 2004 as a social site for Harvard students, but had already spread to other U.S. college campuses, attracting hundreds of thousands of members by the time the lawsuit was first filed.
Court papers filed by ConnectU state that Zuckerberg agreed to work for Harvard Connection founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, then dragged his feet before launching Thefacebook.com in February 2004.
In the four years since then, the student phenomenon spread across the United States and the world. Two years ago, Facebook, which has relocated to Palo Alto, California, opened up the site to members of all ages.
Facebook has become Silicon Valley's hottest start-up company over the past year as it has catapulted to become the world's largest social network site, surpassing rival MySpace, a unit of News Corp, according to recent international monthly data from market researcher comScore Inc.
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