Snapchat's largest legal issue came to a close today, as the company decided to settle its dispute with Frank Reginald "Reggie" Brown. In a
press release announcing the closure of the legal battle, it was said that the settlement would bring an end to the suit that Brown filed, alleging that he originally came up with the idea for a disappearing picture message.
Brown first filed the suit with the Superior Court of Los Angeles in November of last year, claiming that he came up with the messaging idea that Snapchat is based on. All of the parties involved -- Snapchat CEO Even Spiegel, CTO Robert Murphy and Brown -- attended Stanford University as students and fraternity brothers, where the idea was first thought up.
The settlement brings an end to the question of who originally came up with the idea, as it credits Brown with the inception of the idea. Previously, the Snapchat founders said that Brown had played no role in the development of the actual app, in spite of documentation -- including patent filings Brown produced as part of the legal case. Spiegel previously stated that he believed Brown did deserve something for his contribution.
"Reggie Brown originally came up with the idea of creating an application for sending disappearing picture messages while he was a student at Stanford University," read the statement. "He then collaborated with Spiegel and Murphy on the development of Snapchat during its early and most formative days."
Spiegel added that he was pleased that the matter was resolved, but formerly acknowledged that Brown helped in the creation of Snapchat. No information on the amount of the settlement was disclosed, but Brown had initially sought up to a third of the company's worth in the suit.
Interesting enough, the release was timed to go out the moment the Apple media event was scheduled to start for the new iPhone and Watch, presumably in an effort to bury the acknowledgement of Brown's role.
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