Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Is Mark Zuckerberg In Danger If Losing The Civil Suit Over FACEBOOK?


What a Mess for Facebook! Mark Zuckerberg claims that he doesn't think he signed any such contract, while Paul Ceglia claims to have lots of evidence that he should own 84% of Facebook. I wouldn't want to bet of how this will work out.

I found this article about an interview that Paul Ceglia had with with the Wellsville Daily Reporter:

June

--------------------------

Ceglia's Facebook civil suit gaining steam in court and in media
By John Anderson Daily Reporter
Posted Jul 26, 2010 @ 10:44 AM


What a week for Facebook. First, the social network, which experts say is worth $24 billion, reached its 500 millionth user. Then, a civil suit against the company by a Wellsville man gained in credibility — in court and with the national media.

Paul Ceglia’s civil suit comes complete with a two-page “work for hire” contract allegedly signed by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and a signed receipt from Zuckerberg after Ceglia paid him $1,000. According to terms of the contract, Ceglia’s civil suit, filed by Hornell attorney Paul Argentieri, claims Ceglia owns 84 percent of Facebook.

This week, the “Today Show” featured the case, calling it a “big battle.” During an interview this past week with Diane Sawyer on “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer,” Zuckerberg answered a question about the signatures, though he did stumble and refered to the signature as “we” instead of from himself.

“I don’t think that we ... that, uhh, if we said that we were unsure, I think that was likely taken out of context. Because I think we were quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over Facebook,” said Zuckerberg.

Ceglia’s attorneys were in court this week in Buffalo. Days later, he watched the interview with Zuckerberg online and said he laughed.

Ceglia, who has only consented to interviews with the Wellsville Daily Reporter, said, “I remember when he signed the contract. We met in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Boston. I stayed there the night before and we met and signed the contract.”

Ceglia said he does not remember the name of the hotel, but said he has his credit card statement showing he purchased the room. The contract was signed on April 28, 2003.

“I guess he (Zuckerberg) is between a rock and a hard place. No one expected him to say ‘No, I did not sign a contract,’ because there is a huge amount of evidence which has yet to be disclosed,”? said Ceglia. “You will have to wait until all the facts come out in court ... I would not want to be Mark Zuckerberg.”

Read More Of The Article

--------------------------

Ceglia seems to be pretty confident doesn't he? How do you think it will all play out?

Leave me a comment

June

Monday, July 26, 2010

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Denies Ceglia's Claim!

This is a pretty strong reversal from the original statement, which stated that Mark Zuckerberg wasn't sure if he had signed the document or not. I think he had better get his message straight, particularly for the courts. Here's the latest article I found on the subject

June


---------------------------------------

Facebook says Zuckerberg signature likely 'forged'
Carolyn McCarthy CNET News | July 26, 2010 4:55 AM PDT

Facebook said in a statement Friday that a lawsuit from a man who claims he owns 84 percent of the company is based on a contract that was likely "forged." It's an unusually forceful denial coming from a company that prefers not to talk about pending litigation.

A Facebook lawyer had initially said that the company was "unsure" whether CEO Mark Zuckerberg had ever signed an agreement with the plaintiff, New York resident Paul Ceglia, to help build something called "The Face Book" in 2003 and in which Ceglia would have an 84 percent stake today. Documents provided by Ceglia indicated that something that appears to be Zuckerberg's signature does indeed appear on a contract. But in his high-profile "ABC World News" interview on Wednesday night, Zuckerberg said that "I think we were quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over Facebook."

Now, an official Facebook statement backs him up and goes so far as to say the company believes the contract is probably a phony.

Read More

---------------------------

This whole ownership is a very serious issue which is going to be decided by the courts. Billions of dollars are at stake. It seems to me that Mark is being a bit disingenuous by making a statement at all at this point. What do you think?

June