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Skype Founders File Copyright Suit Against eBay

Saif writes to let us know that Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype, have filed a copyright suit against eBay for altering and sharing the peer-to-peer source code behind the calling service. The founders managed to maintain ownership of the source and licensed it to eBay in their 2005 deal and are now seeking an injunction and statutory damages which could total more than $75 million per day. "Mr. Zennstrom and Mr. Friis have developed a reputation for litigiousness in some legal circles. They filed three separate lawsuits against Pamela Colburn, an investment banker who represented them in the original sale of Skype, in the United States, the Netherlands and Britain. In May, a British judge dismissed the case and said the two men's reason for pursuing the matter in his country 'remains inexplicable.' The buyers of Skype have not publicly addressed the founders' lawsuit against eBay in Britain or their potential legal liability."

12 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. KaZaaM! by JackSpratts · · Score: 5, Funny

    kazaa/fasttrack founders suing for copyright violation? it's hard to know just where to begin...

    - js.

  2. They should have left negative feedback... by VinylRecords · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should have just left negative feedback. Isn't that the policy for a bad transaction on eBay anyways?

    1. Re:They should have left negative feedback... by nemui-chan · · Score: 3, Funny

      Right, but then eBay could have filed with Paypal saying that they didn't get what they paid for...

    2. Re:They should have left negative feedback... by CthulhuDreamer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sellers can't leave negative feedback.

  3. Summary must have been written by a lawyer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can see he has a key with "(TM)" on it

  4. Re:what a horseship contract by swanzilla · · Score: 2, Funny

    conclusion: put them all in a room, with their laywers. on the titanic. hit an iceberg. it's a start.

    Unfortunately, the Titanic sank in 1912. A chubby red-haired woman survived, but a floppy haired blonde guy froze in the water. There was a movie about it a few years ago.

  5. Re:Basically by idontgno · · Score: 2, Funny

    I didn't know there was a shotgun season for aunt-elope.

    --
    Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  6. Re:Some people. by z4ce · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can I suggest you contact your local ACORN office? They can help you set up a tax dodge for the island and probably arrange women through their contacts in Tijuana...

  7. Re:Basically by rattaroaz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh, and totally off-topic, but does anyone know a 24-hour chapel where they do weddings? My grandfather is making my aunt elope.

    Can't advise you on a 24-hour chapel, but I can advise you not to quit your day job.

  8. Re:Brilliant Hack by corbettw · · Score: 2, Funny

    The best part is, eBay didn't even open the box until after they left their feedback: "A++, great communication, would buy from again".

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  9. Re:Basically by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Funny

    Copyright law -- is there any chaos it can't cause?

    There's plenty, but don't you worry - it's covered by patent law.

  10. Re:Genius! by ClosedSource · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Either that or eBay's lawyers must be the world's biggest idiots."

    So that's where the IBM lawyers that negotiated the MS-DOS contract ended up.