RSS
Skype Tech Licensing Soap Opera Continues: Founders Sue eBay, New Buyers For Copyright Infringement
from the someone-screwed-up-big-time dept
Over the summer, we wrote about the bizarre and protracted legal dispute concerning whether or not eBay actually had the rights to the core technology in Skype. Skype's founders, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, claim that they retained the right to the core technology in a separate company called Joltid, and that they terminated eBay's license to that technology. There's a legal battle already underway about that, but apparently that's not enough, as Joltid has now filed a separate copyright infringement lawsuit against eBay and the list of investors who recently bought out a big chunk of Skype from eBay. The thing that still amazes me is that pretty much everyone realized right away that it made no sense for eBay to buy Skype. That was a bad idea from the very beginning. But finding out that the purchase price didn't even include the core technology, and that Joltid had the ability to revoke the license, makes the purchase almost monumentally bad.
9 Comments | Leave a Comment..
- How Much Is Enough? We've Passed 15 'Anti-Piracy' Laws In The Last 30 Years
- Justice Department Wants $5 Million To Bolster Its Efforts As Hollywood's Private Police Force
- Two Contradictory Paths In The UK When It Comes To Copyright Issues
- UK Now Seizing Music Blogs (With American Domains) Over Copyright Claims
- Disney And Warner Bros. Prepare To Fight Over Who Owns The Public Domain Wizard Of Oz
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
this beats any 419 baiter's exploits
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Yes, but
You've already won the game, is there any point to going home with your bat and ball now?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Yes, but
sorry, not helpful, i know. but amusing none the less.
[taking dodgy analogies and running with them can be funny :)]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
I wonder...
I have to say that the original deal was a completely stupid one - WTF does Ebay need a phone service for? But I can't quite believe they were stupid enough to get caught out like this.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
RE: I wonder...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: RE: I wonder...
If their allegations are true eBay made a bad deal (and probably paid less initially for it), tried to commit corporate espionage to get around it, got caught, and had their hat handed to them.
It'll suck if this leads to the downfall of Skype, but eBay will have it coming and deserves the blame.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
wonder if
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
EBay genius
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Add Your Comment