Winklevoss twins lose settlement appeal over Facebook creation

A US COURT has ruled that the Winklevoss twins may not appeal their $20 million settlement with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The twins claimed that Facebook was their idea and that Zuckerberg stole it, leading to a court battle that lasted six years.

Eventually a settlement was reached in 2008 between Zuckerberg, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, the fourth person claiming to have been in on the creation of the social networking website.

The settlement involved a cash payment of $20 million (£12.2 million) and a share of Facebook, which is worth a lot more long-term. The total settlement is worth over $160 million (£97.8 million) today, thanks to Facebook's growing success.

However, the Winklevoss brothers later claimed that they had been misled when the settlement was being negotiated. They said that Facebook's market value was different than what they had been told and that they were under the impression each share was worth $35.90 (£21.94) due to Microsoft's investment, but in reality the shares were only worth $8.88 (£5.43). The brothers claimed that they would have asked for more shares, since they had a lower value.

The judge did not believe that the twins had been duped, however. He said that they were "sophisticated parties" that brought "half a dozen lawyers to the mediation". In other words, they knew what they were getting into.

He added that "at some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached," according to the Press Association.

The twins can still appeal to the US Supreme Court. Their lawyers said they are deciding what to do next. µ