Skype Founders Sue eBay And Investors In Skype Buyout Deal
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Skype's founders have filed a copyright suit against eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) and a group of investors that plan to buy Skype from eBay which could perhaps throw a hiccup into the recent $2 billion deal.
The founders, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, left Skype in 2007, two years after eBay bought the company. Their company, Joltid Ltd., has been in an intellectual property dispute with Skype since March, putting a cloud over eBay's efforts to unload Skype.
The dispute centers around a peer-to-peer technology called "global index" that is owned by Joltid. That technology is also used at the core of Skype's software, which routes calls over the Internet instead of traditional phone lines.
Joltid terminated Skype's license for that software in March, and the two companies have since been involved in a suit about that termination in a U.K. court.
EBay does admit that the suit with Joltid could affect Skype's operation, and possibly closure of its sale. In a regulatory filing, eBay said consummation of the sale was subject to there being no changes in Skype that have an adverse effect on the company, as well as consent from the buyers on the settlement of pending litigation.
The founders, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, left Skype in 2007, two years after eBay bought the company. Their company, Joltid Ltd., has been in an intellectual property dispute with Skype since March, putting a cloud over eBay's efforts to unload Skype.
The dispute centers around a peer-to-peer technology called "global index" that is owned by Joltid. That technology is also used at the core of Skype's software, which routes calls over the Internet instead of traditional phone lines.
Joltid terminated Skype's license for that software in March, and the two companies have since been involved in a suit about that termination in a U.K. court.
EBay does admit that the suit with Joltid could affect Skype's operation, and possibly closure of its sale. In a regulatory filing, eBay said consummation of the sale was subject to there being no changes in Skype that have an adverse effect on the company, as well as consent from the buyers on the settlement of pending litigation.
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