AfterDawn: Tech news

Video Daily: Facebook says '84 percent' contract was 'forged'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2010 12:34 User comments (4)

Video Daily: Facebook says '84 percent' contract was 'forged' Late last month, a man sued Facebook claiming he owns 84 percent of the social networking giant.
Paul Ceglia says he entered into a contract with Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, for a 50 percent share, doing so for $1000 USD. In addition, Ceglia says the deal granted him 1 percent extra of the company for every day until the Web site was completed after January 2004.

The site took 34 days to complete.

Reads the signed contract: In return for the $1000 payment, Ceglia "would own a 50 percent interest in the software, programming language and business interests derived from the expansion of the [Facebook] service to a larger audience."

Facebook has come forward today with a strong denial of businessman Ceglia's claim to 84 percent of the social networking giant, going as far as to call the alleged contract in question a "forgery."

In his interview with "ABC World News" this week, Zuckerberg said: "I think we were quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over Facebook."



The company backed up its CEO saying: "Mark has made it clear that Ceglia's claims are absurd and we strongly suspect the contract is forged. However, we have not seen the original (no one has, including the court). Thus, we're focusing on the things that are not open to interpretation and are indisputable--Mark could not have given interest in a company that didn't exist or an idea he had not thought of yet and, even if he could, the statute of limitations has expired."


Previous Next  

4 user comments

124.7.2010 03:23

Two simple things to resolve this whole thing...
The original of the contract
A Bank statement, check, or other proof of the $1000 payment.

If these can be produced and shown to be legitimate, it is an open and shut case...some guy owns most of facebook.

If these things cannot be produced, or it they are shown to be forgeries, then some guy is going to prison.

224.7.2010 12:47

Originally posted by KillerBug:
Two simple things to resolve this whole thing...
The original of the contract
A Bank statement, check, or other proof of the $1000 payment.
That sounds about right.

It also seems odd to me that Zuckerberg would agree to automatically splitting facebook 50% with someone for just $1000. The addition of 1% per day doesn't seem right to me either; a small delay could have easily meant facebook, 100% of it, belonged to Paul Ceglia.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 24 Jul 2010 @ 12:52

324.7.2010 13:28

haha stupid people and internet, something that you can sit back with a bucket of butter popcorn and watch

425.7.2010 05:13

Quote:
haha stupid people and internet, something that you can sit back with a bucket of butter popcorn and watch
Well someone could if they were a lazy fat slob with no life :)

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive