Copyright, Defamation, Depositions, Facebook, Intellectual Property, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology

Facebook Litigation Continues: A Closer Look at Aaron Greenspan

Was Aaron Greenspan the programmer Facebook forgot? Let's hear, in his own words, the story of his various lawsuits against the social network…

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AARON GREENSPAN — EMAIL MESSAGE — MAY 14TH STORY

In your article on May 14th (https://abovethelaw.com/2012/05/another-one-of-zuckerbergs-former-classmates-tries-and-fails-to-cash-in-on-facebook/) you portrayed me as a hanger-on trying to get rich off of a tenuous connection to Facebook. You also compared me to Paul Ceglia and the Winklevoss twins. You don’t have your facts straight, and the comparison is insulting.

First of all, I already settled with both Mark and Facebook in 2009, which I don’t think you mentioned in your post. See http://newsroom.fb.com/News/Facebook-and-Think-Computer-Corporation-Resolve-Trademark-Dispute-c6.aspx. While I certainly won’t complain if I’m ultimately awarded damages in the Mezrich case, your implied assertion that the suit is primarily motivated by money is not even close to true. I sued Mezrich because I’d had enough of listening to his lies and his three-hour interview on C-SPAN in November, 2011 was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Second, what I have to say must genuinely scare Facebook’s lawyers, because they recently resorted to this in an unrelated simultaneous dispute before the USPTO TTAB:

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91198355-OPP-38.pdf
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91198355-OPP-39.pdf

(Yes, we settled, but that doesn’t mean their lawyers will leave me alone. They’re still insisting that they have exclusive rights to the word “FACE.”) You’ll notice that more than half of the pages in this deposition transcript have been redacted by their counsel. This is relevant because among other things, they redacted references to the mere existence of our settlement agreement–to keep reporters like you in the dark, and to ensure that I’m portrayed as…a hanger-on trying to get rich off of a tenuous connection to Facebook. My response to these tactics can be found here:

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91198355-OPP-18.pdf
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91198355-OPP-50.pdf

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As far as the Mezrich case is concerned, if you’re really interested in reporting on it, I’d suggest reading my appeal brief, which I just filed (and which is why I’m sending this message to you now). You can find the brief and the appendix here:

http://www.aarongreenspan.com/filing/20120613.brief.pdf
http://www.aarongreenspan.com/filing/20120613.appendix.pdf

I understand why you might be skeptical, but that’s exactly why I filed this suit. I shouldn’t be forced to battle that skepticism all my life.

Lastly, you may be interested in another project I’m working on: http://www.plainsite.org.

Earlier: Another One of Zuckerberg’s Former Classmates Tries — and Fails — to Cash in on Facebook
Aaron Greenspan v. Random House: Brief of Aaron Greenspan [U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]

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