Last month, <name>Paul D. Ceglia</name> filed suit against Facebook, the world's largest social network, claiming that he rightfully owns 84 percent of the company. The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, bases its claims on a 2003 contract between <name>Ceglia</name> and Facebook founder and CEO <name>Mark Zuckerberg</name>. The contract reportedly states that <name>Zuckerberg</name> would give <name>Ceglia</name> 50 percent ownership in the company in exchange for designing a website "similar to a live functioning yearbook with the working title of 'The Face Book'," and paying a US$1000 fee. <name>Ceglia</name> would also get an extra percentage point every day after January 1, 2004 until the work was completed.

Earlier this month, Judge <name>Thomas Brown</name> issued a temporary restraining order that prevents transfer of Facebook's assets in light of the ongoing lawsuit. According to <name>Victor P. Goldberg</name>, who teaches at Columbia University's Law School, the lawsuit may get tripped up by the statute of limitations, which is six years in New York. PC World says that one problem with <name>Ceglia's</name> claim is that the contract was purportedly signed in 2003, while <name>Zuckerberg</name> didn't register the domain name thefacebook.com until January 2004.