Anybody not wanting to hear the details of the Facebook-ConnectU case may be able to sigh with relief. Everyone else might be out of luck. Judge James Ware has closed the first part of the proceedings to both the public and the press.
So far, the companies’ relationship has elicited quite a bit of eye rolling. ConnectU’s founders claimed Mark Zuckerberg more or less stole the idea for Facebook from them. In April, they all reached a settlement (the amount of which wasn’t disclosed). Then, earlier this month, the ConnectU side came back with more evidence.
Until Judge Ware either opens up his courtroom or announces his ruling, this seems to be the end of the story. Courtroom leaks aren’t too common and sometimes wind up being quite inaccurate.
Ware‘s professional history seems to indicate he’s familiar with tech issues, at least. Ware is the judge who, as a post on the Official Google Blog puts it, “decided to drastically limit a subpoena issued to Google by the Department of Justice.” He’s also had encounters with Microsoft and RealNetworks.
And Declan McCullagh reports, “U.S. District Judge James Ware plans to issue a ruling before too much time has elapsed, attorneys involved in the matter said . . .”
