Social networking website Facebook could be closed if legal action in the US by a rival site"s founders succeeds.
Three founders of ConnectU say Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the site while at Harvard.
Facebook has become a global phenomenon with about 31 million users, compared with ConnectU"s 70,000.
A Federal case accuses Mr Zuckerberg of fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets, and asks for ConnectU to be given ownership of Facebook.
Last year, Facebook turned down a $1bn offer from Yahoo.
Facebook has asked a judge at a Boston district court to dismiss the case.
The ConnectU founders claim that while at college Mr Zuckerberg agreed to finish writing computer code for them, but that he stalled and eventually created Facebook using their ideas.