Update on Would-Be Facebook Owner

WELLSVILLE – We reported yesterday that a Wellsville man could possibly own as much as 85% of Facebook, according to a lawsuit filed by Paul Ceglia.

We have now learned that Ceglia was the web designer hired by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg to design the orginal thefacebook.com. Ceglia says he signed a contract with Zuckerberg in 2003 to develop the site.

Ceglia’s lawsuit says that he was paid $1,000 plus a 50% stake in the business for developing the original website. The lawsuit also says that according to the contract Ceglia had with Zuckerberg, his share of the business was to increase by 1% per day, until completion of the site. Ceglia claims that his stake in Facebook totaled 84% by February 4, 2004.

Facebook is vigorously fighting Ceglia’s claims, and has moved to dismiss a New York Judge’s order temporarily barring Facebook from selling or transferring assets.

Facebook attorneys say the claim is frivolous.

Why Ceglia waited this long to file a suit still remains a mystery, and how exactly thefacebook.com relates to facebook.com is still unclear.

Stay tuned for more details.