I2hub Explained

Founder:Wayne Chang
Url:i2hub.com
Launch Date:March 2004
Company Type:Private
Area Served:Worldwide
Location:Massachusetts
Industry:Internet, Computer software
Products:i2hub.com, Jungalu.com, ConnectU.com, StallScribbles.com, Digital Flyers, ConnectHi (theyearbook.org), ConnectGroups, The Winklevoss Chang Group Representative Program, The Rep Center, Social Butterfly
Current Status:Inactive

i2hub was a peer-to-peer file sharing service and program designed and intended primarily for use by university and college students.

History

The program was created by Wayne Chang, a student at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.[1]

i2hub used Internet2, which was a special network that connected universities around the world. It allowed faster data transfer rates than typical Internet connections. Because of this, download speeds through i2hub were usually much faster than through other peer-to-peer networks.

The service was launched in March 2004 and ultimately expanded to over 400 universities and colleges both in the United States and abroad.[2] [3] [4] [5]

Competition from Facebook

In August 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Adam D'Angelo, and Sean Parker of Facebook launched a competing peer-to-peer file sharing service called Wirehog.[6] [7] Traction was low compared to i2hub, and Facebook ultimately shut it down.[8]

The Winklevoss Chang Group

As its user-base expanded, it attracted the attention of ConnectU. A partnership allegedly formed between i2hub and ConnectU. The partnership, called The Winklevoss Chang Group, jointly advertised their properties through bus advertisements as well as press releases. i2hub integrated its popular software with ConnectU's website, as part of the partnership. The team also jointly launched several projects and initiatives, including:[9] [10]

Legal pressure

The network was criticized by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for its ability to share copyrighted materials through a faster medium. On October 5, 2004, Cary Sherman, the president of the RIAA, talked about i2hub in a statement to the United States House of Representatives.[11] On April 12, 2005, the RIAA announced it was suing 405 i2hub users, students at 18 colleges and universities, for copyright infringement.[12] On September 22, 2005, the United States House of Representatives had another hearing to discuss i2hub.[13] On November 14, 2005, i2hub was shut down with the message "RIP 11/14/2005. It was a good run. Forced to shut down by the industry."[14] [15] [16]

On January 17, 2006, The Wall Street Journal[17] wrote that UMASS students that were sued for using i2hub wanted founder Wayne Chang to pay for their lawsuits. Wayne Chang and his attorney, Charles Baker, who also represented StreamCast Networks (makers of the Morpheus P2P software), responded saying that i2hub has no liability in the matter and is protected by the EULA. The lawsuit was never filed by the UMASS students.[18]

Facebook lawsuits

ConnectU had sued Facebook in early 2004.[19] Facebook countersued in regard to the team's Social Butterfly project, and named among the defendants ConnectU, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, Divya Narendra, and Wayne Chang.[20] Settlement was reached where Facebook acquired ConnectU for 1,253,326 shares of Facebook stock and an additional $20 million in cash.[21] [22] On August 26, 2010, The New York Times reported that Facebook shares were trading at $76 per share in the secondary market, putting the total settlement value at close to $120 million.[23] [24] Another lawsuit was filed to undo the settlement, as Facebook allegedly misrepresented the value of the stock by more than fourfold. If the settlement were adjusted to match, the total value would be over $466 million.[25]

The Winklevoss Chang Group lawsuit

On December 21, 2009, i2hub founder Wayne Chang and The i2hub Organization launched a lawsuit against ConnectU and its founders, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra, seeking 50% of the settlement. The complaint claimed,[26] that "The Winklevosses and Howard Winklevoss filed [a] patent application, U.S. Patent Application No 20060212395, on or around March 15, 2005, but did not list Chang as a co-inventor." It also stated "Through this litigation, Chang asserts his ownership interest in The Winklevoss Chang Group and ConnectU, including the settlement proceeds."[10] Lee Gesmer (of prominent law firm Gesmer Updegrove, LLP) posted the detailed 33-page complaint online.[9] [27]

On May 13, 2011, Judge Peter Lauriat made a ruling against the Winklevosses. Chang's case against them could proceed. The Winklevosses had argued that the court lacked jurisdiction because the settlement with Facebook had not been distributed and therefore Chang had not suffered any injury. Judge Lauriat wrote, "The flaw in this argument is that defendants appear to conflate loss of the settlement proceed with loss of rights. Chang alleges that he has received nothing in return for the substantial benefits he provided to ConnectU, including the value of his work, as well as i2hub's users and goodwill." Lauriat also wrote that, although Chang's claims to the settlement are "too speculative to confer standing, his claims with respect to an ownership in ConnectU are not. They constitute an injury separate and distinct from his possible share of the settlement proceeds. The court concluded that Chang had pled sufficient facts to confer standing with respect to his claims against the Winklevoss defendants."[28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]

Notes and References

  1. News: Wayne's World. Anita Davis. 2005-10-21. The Daily Free Press. 2010-07-25. 2010-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20101003035258/http://www.dailyfreepress.com/2.5500/wayne-s-world-1.926414. dead.
  2. News: CNET News. File-swapping gets supercharged on student network. 2004-04-29. John Borland.
  3. News: MIT FurdLog. The Rise of i2hub. 2004-08-19. Frank Field.
  4. News: Wall Street Journal. New on Campus: Faster Network For File-Sharers. 2004-07-07. Hope Glassberg.
  5. News: The Chronicle. Students Use Internet2's High-Speed Research Network to Swap Songs and Movies. 2004-05-14. Brock Read.
  6. News: Martey Dodoo. Wirehog?. 2004-08-16. Martey Dodoo.
  7. News: Harvard Crimson. Zuckerberg Programs New Website. 2004-08-13. Alan J. Tabak.
  8. Web site: Wirehog, Zuckerberg's Side Project That Almost Killed Facebook – TechCrunch. techcrunch.com. 26 May 2010 . en-US. 2018-04-04.
  9. News: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Chang v. Winklevoss Complaint. 2010-01-18. Lee Gesmer.
  10. News: CNET News. Fresh legal woes for ConnectU founders. 2010-01-04. Caroline McCarthy. 2010-07-23. 2014-03-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140313031247/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10424028-36.html. dead.
  11. News: United States House of Representatives. STATEMENT OF CARY SHERMAN, PRESIDENT, RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON PEER-TO-PEER (P2P) PIRACY ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: AN UPDATE. 2004-10-05. Cary Sherman. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100806070027/http://judiciary.house.gov/legacy/sherman100504.htm. 2010-08-06.
  12. News: RIAA. RIAA TARGETS NEW PIRACY EPIDEMIC ON SPECIAL HIGH-SPEED CAMPUS NETWORK. 2005-04-12. Recording Industry Association of America.
  13. News: United States House of Representatives. REDUCING PEER-TO-PEER (P2P) PIRACY ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: A PROGRESS UPDATE. 2005-09-22. Subcommittee on Courts . the Internet . Intellectual Property .
  14. News: CNET News. Supercharged college P2P network closes. 2005-11-04. John Borland.
  15. News: Slyck. i2hub Shuts Down. 2005-11-15. Thomas Mennecke.
  16. News: All Business. File-Trading Network i2Hub Shuts Down. 2005-11-15. Antony Bruno.
  17. https://www.wsj.com/public/article/SB113751573975848680-4Gpxpk1YN_MDTFwowDU5rHUsleM_20070117.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top Wall Street Journal
  18. News: Wall Street Journal. Students Want File-Sharing Site To Pay for RIAA Settlements. 2006-01-17. Vauhini Vara.
  19. News: The Harvard Crimson. Lawsuit Threatens To Close Facebook. 2004-09-13. Timothy J. McGinn.
  20. News: Justia. The Facebook, Inc. v. Connectu, LLC et al. 2007-03-09. California Northern District Court.
  21. News: Business Insider. Facebook Paid ConnectU Founders $65 Million Settlement. 2009-02-10. Dan Frommer.
  22. News: The New York Times. ConnectU's 'Secret' $65 Million Settlement With Facebook. 2009-02-10. Brad Stone.
  23. News: New York Times. Investors Value Facebook at Up to $33.7 Billion. August 26, 2010.
  24. News: VentureBeat. Financial wrinkle lost ConnectU some Facebook settlement dollars. February 12, 2009. Eric Eldon.
  25. News: VentureBeat. Facebook CEO's latest woe: Accusations of securities fraud . May 19, 2010. Owen Thomas.
  26. https://www.scribd.com/doc/25379721/Chang-v-Winklevoss-Complaint Chang v. Winklevoss Complaint
  27. News: Mass Law Blog. The Road Goes on Forever, But the Lawsuits Never End: ConnectU, Facebook, Their Entourages. 2010-01-18. Lee Gesmer.
  28. News: Huffington Post. Wayne Chang's Suit Against Winklevoss Twins Can Proceed, Judge Rules. 2011-05-13. Bianca Bosker.
  29. News: The National Law Journal. 2011-05-13. Winklevoss Twins Loses Again in Court. Sheri Qualters.
  30. News: Winklevoss Twins Sued For Part Of Their Facebook Fortunes. Fox News. 2011-05-13.
  31. News: Developer Sues Winklevoss Twins, Everybody Cheers . AllFacebook . 2011-05-13 . Nick O'Neill . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108050044/http://www.allfacebook.com/developer-sues-winklevoss-twins-everybody-cheers-2011-05 . 2012-01-08 .
  32. News: PC Magazine. Winklevoss Twins Face Lawsuit Over Facebook Funds. 2011-05-13. Chloe Albanesius.
  33. News: Bloomberg. Winklevoss Twins Face Suit Over Failed Alliance, Judge Says. Sophia Pearson. 2011-05-13.

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