The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (AP Photo / Craig Ruttle)

Half a billion users, more or less what all the inhabitants of the European Union . In both totals the number of members of Facebook, the social network's most popular (and populous) in the world. News that Mark Zuckerberg wanted to celebrate with all their friends directly from the page of his profile. All, except one: Paul D. Ceglia.

Who is Paul D. Ceglia? It is one of the many collaborators who in 2003 helped Zuckerberg of Facebook web developer. Nothing sensational, if not for the contract - unearthed in recent days by the same Ceglia - which establishes the fee for the service: $ 1,000 plus 50% of the share of finished product to increase by 1% for each day spent by ' beginning of development (1 Jan. 2004) until its completion. In all, it 's 84% of the company, since the project was completed on February 4, 2004, the date of the launch of TheFacebook.com.

It seems yet another attempt some 'roguish to get their hands (or rather, the tentacles, given the coincidence of Ceglia with the world's most famous octopus ) on one of the most extraordinary gold mines of the Web, some time ago, remember him, Zuckerberg had to fend off allegations of two of his former Harvard classmates - Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss - who accused him of stealing the code of their social network, ConnectU, and used it to Facebook.

Declarations of Lisa Simpson, the lawyer who is following the story on behalf of Facebook, however, pose the least doubt that in this whole crazy story there really is something established. "We are not yet certain that Zuckerberg had signed that paper" is the comment in some ways disturbing legal.

Of course it sounds strange that one of the most talented young people in the history of the web is like slipping on a banana peel. And even more strange that the claim comes just hours after six years from the birth of Facebook. In favor of Ceglia, then do not play some of its past: the past year has been sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for a fraud case. The Web has nothing to do but in this case, there would be more than half of 200 thousand dollars of pellets never delivered (since in the meantime the good Paul has changed jobs).

When in doubt, Judge Thomas Brown has issued an order that still blocks all possible transfers of corporate assets Facebook. Greetings, Zuckerberg.