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A Columbus, Ohio based technology company is suing Facebook for alleged copyright infringement charging that the social networking site is using technology it developed to run the site.

Leader Technologies maintains that it developed a patent that Facebook uses to manage and store electronic information. Leader says it applied for the patent in 2002 and is seeking damages and an injunction against Facebook for what it calls willful infringement.

"We have spent a great amount of time and effort in procuring our intellectual property and have taken the necessary steps to protect our proprietary and inventive ideas," said Michael McKibben, founder of Leader.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington. Leader filed the suit now because it was just recently awarded the patent.

"The suit alleges (Leader) owns certain intellectual property relating to how information is managed on the Internet, and the complaint alleges that Facebook's Internet site infringes the patent that covers that technology," Paul Andre, the attorney representing Leader told The Columbus Dispatch.

Conventional wisdom about suit against Facebook is that the patent is overly broad and that Leader is just trying to get publicity.