Cengage Advantage Books: Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business 2nd Edition by Marianne Jennings, Albert Napier, Marianne Jennings

تمرين 17

Facebook Formation Ethics
While the case was never litigated, discovery during the litigation by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg indicates that Mr. Zuckerberg had a contract to write software for "Harvard Connection," or ConnectU, a social network site conceived by the Winklevosses. Mr. Zuckerberg did not complete the software work and instead developed his social network, Facebook, a site that has attracted 1 in every 14 people in the world. What were Mr. Zuckerberg's ethical obligations to the Winklevosses? Did he use an idea he gained by agreeing to do contract work? What about his ethical obligations to Mr. Narendra, who provided funding to get Facebook up and running? Is there a difference between legal contractual obligations and an ethical obligation to perform? The twins were awarded $20 million in cash and $45 million in Facebook stock options, with the shares valued at $36 each as of April 2011. What would have been the basis for that award?
Sources: L. Gordon Crovitz, "The More Exciting Story of Facebook," Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2010, p. A17 and Jon Swartz, "Facebook Lawsuit Settled For Good," USA Today, April 12, 2011, p. 3B.