It’s “The Social Network II.”
A Manhattan judge has given the green light to a lawsuit by an Ivy League-educated lawyer who says his former big shot business partner stole the idea for Pinterest out from under him.
Theodore Schroeder, 37, can now proceed with his claim Brian Cohen “misappropriated” his idea for a virtual bulletin-board social network.
In a court battle similar to the Facebook fight between the Winklevoss twins and Mark Zuckerberg that inspired the movie “The Social Network,” Schroeder says he spent “thousands of hours” developing what became Pinterest, and never got paid a dime.
In court papers, Schroeder says he was going to Columbia Law School in 2004 when he and classmate Brandon Stroy “worked together to develop an idea for a socially networked bulletin board.”
Schroeder, owner of a gluten-free taco stand in Atlantic City, says he taught himself “the necessary computer and programming skills” to develop the site Rendezvoo in 2006.
Schroeder then convinced his partners that the site’s “social networked bulletin boards” should be able to “share any interest” users have, the court papers say.
They met with moneyman Cohen, who agreed to serve as CEO and pay $20,000 in funding — which he never fully forked over.
They developed a site called Skoopwire.com in 2007, but the project and partnership fell apart a year later, the suit says.
They went their separate ways, with Cohen — who owns a $10 million Long Island mansion — sending Schroeder an email in July 2008 saying, “I have absolutely NO interest in PROFITING from your specific design work on Skoopwire.”
Less than a year later, papers say, Cohen gave “Schroeder’s ideas and applications to entrepreneurs Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp,” who created Pinterest.
Schroeder sued Cohen, 59, and Pinterest for ripping him off. In his ruling, Justice Melvin Schweitzer let Pinterest off the hook, but found Schroeder may have a case against Cohen.
Schroeder declined comment. His attorney, Sidney Liebesman, said he would appeal the decision to let Pinterest out of the case.
The ruling comes as Pinterest, with its estimated worth of $5 billion, is thinking about an initital public offering.
