Saturday, July 24, 2010

Did Mark Give Away Ownership of Facebook?


Is it possible that Mark Zuckerberg could really have given away most of "Facebook" when he was just a college student? I guess when we're young and eager we're not thinking that far ahead. Here's an article I read this morning that may shed a bit of light on this dilemma.

June


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Man Claims Ownership of Facebook
By Geoffrey A. Fowler

A New York judge has issued a temporary restraining order restricting the transfer of Facebook Inc.'s assets, following a suit by a New York man who claims to own an 84% stake in the social-networking company.

Paul D. Ceglia filed a suit in the Supreme Court of New York's Allegany County on June 30, claiming that a 2003 contract he signed with Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg entitles him to ownership of the company and monetary damages.

The suit is being heard by Judge Thomas Brown, who issued the temporary restraining order earlier this month. Facebook has requested that the case be moved to federal court.

In his suit, Mr. Ceglia claims he signed a contract with Mr. Zuckerberg on April 28, 2003, to develop and design a website, paying a $1,000 fee but getting a 50% stake in the product. The contract stipulated that Mr. Ceglia would get an additional 1% interest in the business for every day after Jan. 1, 2004, until it was completed.

In a statement, a spokesman for closely held Facebook said, "We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously."

Read More

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Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

June