Skype Creators Sue Former Joost CEO Volpi

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 10:14am.

Wilmington, Del. - The creators of Skype, Kazaa and Joost and their related companies have filed suit against former Joost CEO and chairman Mike Volpi and Index Ventures Management, alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, among other claims. The plaintiffs include Joltid, the company owned by Skype, Kazaa and Joost creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom; Joost US Inc.; and Joost N.V.

"The suit seeks an injunction requiring the defendants to return to the plaintiffs all documents and files containing confidential information that the lawsuit alleges was misappropriated from Joost, and enjoining the defendants from making any use of the alleged misappropriated trade secrets, among other things," the plaintiffs said in a statement.

NewTeeVee reports that the lawsuit centers on technology Volpi allegedly was pitching as a version of Internet telephone service Skype, that could run without Joltid's proprietary peer-to-peer software.

The lawsuit alleges that Volpi's knowledge could help partner Index Ventures and the rest of the investor group negotiating to acquire Skype from eBay (NASD: EBAY) to operate Skype without licensing Joltid's technology.

Earlier this week, Joltid also sued eBay and the investor group looking to acquire Skype for copyright infringement.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ryz9j

http://snipurl.com/ryz8o (NewTeeVee)

http://snipurl.com/ryziq (DMW previous coverage)

http://joltid.com

http://www.skype.com