"If Ceglia's claims are true, he owns half of the company," noted Olds. "This would entitle him to a say in decisions and the same level of control as Zuckerberg."

Kerravala said he suspects that Zuckerberg would pay out a big settlement to retain control of his company.

"If the guy is looking for money, [Ceglia] will likely take a settlement," he added. "So the impact is likely to be bigger to Zuckerberg than to Facebook."

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at , or subscribe to . Her e-mail address is .

in Computerworld's IT Industry Topic Center.