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Skype Litigation Settled; Sale by eBay to Investors to Proceed

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 8:35am.
San Jose, Calif. - Skype parent company eBay (NASD: EBAY) announced on Friday that litigation between an investor group looking to acquire Skype and the creators of the Internet telephone service has been settled, and that its sale of a majority stake in Skype will now proceed. As a result of the settlement, the acquisition deal has been restructured, and Skype creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will now join the investor group, led by Silver Lake, and make a "significant capital investment" in exchange for a 14% stake in Skype.
tags: Deals | Law | Lawsuits | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype | Joost | Mike Volpi | Silver Lake Partners | Andreessen Horowitz | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |

Report: Skype Creators, eBay, Investors Near Settlement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 9:29am.
San Francisco - Litigation between the inventors and former owners of Internet phone service Skype, current owner eBay (NASD: EBAY), and an investor group looking to acquire Skype from eBay, could be nearing a settlement, The New York Times reported, citing several people who have been briefed on the situation. Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis -- the inventors of Skype and the peer-to-peer technology behind file-sharing service Kazaa and video portal Joost -- sued the investor group in a bid to block their acquisition of Skype from eBay.
tags: Law | Lawsuits | P2P | eBay | Skype | Joost | Mike Volpi | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |

Skype Creators Seek Injunction Against Former Joost CEO Volpi

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2009 - 9:00am.
Wilmington, Del. - The creators of peer-to-peer services Kazaa, Skype and Joost have asked a federal court for an injunction against former Joost CEO Mike Volpi and Index Ventures, where he is now a partner, to prevent them from using trade secrets in their bid to acquire Skype from eBay. Developers Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis allege that Volpi breached his duties to Joost while employed there by dangling a prospective workaround -- that would eliminate the need for Skype to use Zennstrom's and Friis' peer-to-peer technology -- to investors looking to acquire Skype from eBay (NASD: EBAY).
tags: Deals | Law | Lawsuits | P2P | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype | Joost | Index Ventures | Mike Volpi | Joltid | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |

AT&T to Allow VoIP Applications on its 3G Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2009 - 10:18am.
Dallas - AT&T (NYSE: T) announced on Tuesday that it has "taken the steps necessary so that Apple (NASD: AAPL) can enable VoIP application on iPhone to run on AT&T's wireless network." Previously, such applications were only enabled for use over Wi-Fi connections. The move will allow Internet-based phone services like Skype, and potentially Google Voice (NASD: GOOG), to work on the iPhone over AT&T's 3G network.

tags: Mobile | Apple | AT&T | VOIP | Skype | iPhone | Google Voice |

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.
tags: Deals | Law | Lawsuits | P2P | Acquisitions | Skype | Copyright | Joost | Index Ventures | Mike Volpi | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |

Skype Founders Sue eBay for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 17, 2009 - 9:41am.
San Francisco - Joltid, the company operated by Skype and Kazaa creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, has filed a copyright infringement suit against Skype parent company eBay (NASD: EBAY), which could have an adverse affect on eBay's $2 billion sale of the Internet telephone company to a group of investors, The Wall Street Journal reported. The pair left Skype two years after eBay acquired the company from them for $2.6 billion in 2005, but retained the rights to the service's underlying peer-to-peer technology.
tags: Deals | Law | Lawsuits | P2P | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype | Joltid | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |

Vonage Says Apple Approves VoIP iPhone Application

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 12:01pm.
Holmdel, N.J. - Vonage (NYSE: VG), a provider of Internet-based telephone service, announced that Apple (NASD: AAPL) has approved its mobile application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The company hasn't released the application yet, stating that it is currently conducting a beta test, and that general availability will be announced at a later date. Vonage also did not state whether its application would allow iPhone owners to use AT&T's 3G network to make Internet-based calls, or, like Skype's iPhone application, be limited to Wi-Fi connections.

tags: Mobile | Apple | VOIP | Skype | Vonage | iPhone |

eBay Sells 65% Stake in Skype to Investor Group for $1.9B

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2009 - 7:12am.
Menlo Park, Calif. - Online auction giant eBay (NASD: EBAY) announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell a majority 65% stake in its Skype Internet telephone unit to an investor group led by Silver Lake for about $1.9 billion in cash. Other members of the investor group include Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The deal values Skype at $2.75 billion.
tags: Deals | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype | Silver Lake | Index Ventures | Andreessen Horowitz | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board |

EBay Announces IPO for Skype in First Half of 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 14, 2009 - 11:05am.
San Jose, Calif. - Online auctioneer eBay (NASD: EBAY) announced on Tuesday that it plans to spin-off its Skype Internet telephone unit in an initial public offering in the first half of 2010. "Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum," said eBay president and CEO John Donahoe. "But it's clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential."
tags: Deals | eBay | Skype | IPOs |

NYT: Skype Co-Founders Seek to Repurchase Firm From eBay

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2009 - 10:12am.
New York - The co-creators of Internet telephone service Skype, who sold their venture to eBay (NASD: EBAY) four years ago for $2.6 billion, are now looking to raise money to help finance a repurchase of the company from eBay, The New York Times reported. Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis "have approached several private equity firms and are pooling their own substantial resources to make a bid for the Internet calling service," people with knowledge of the plan told The Times.
tags: Deals | P2P | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype |

Are You Interested In Getting Skype for Your iPhone, BlackBerry?

Authored by Jay Baage on March 31, 2009 - 9:43am.
tags: Mobile | Marketing | Skype | iPhone | Business Models |

Skype to Launch Applications for iPhone, BlackBerry

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2009 - 11:28am.

New York - Skype, the Internet telephone service unit of eBay (NASD: EBAY), plans to launch an application that make its service available to users of Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone tomorrow at a mobile industry trade show, and another in May that will enable its service for RIM's (NASD: RIMM) BlackBerry, Reuters reported. "The No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There's a pent-up demand," Skype COO Scott Durchslag told Reuters.

tags: Mobile | Apple | eBay | Skype | BlackBerry | RIM | iPhone |

Report: Skype May Introduce iPhone Application Next Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 26, 2009 - 12:54pm.
Los Angeles - Skype (NASD: EBAY) may soon introduce a version of its Internet telephony application for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone, GigaOM reports, adding that the announcement could come at the CTIA mobile industry conference in Las Vegas next week. Skype's VoIP service has to date been downloaded over 405 million times.

tags: Mobile | Apple | Skype | iPhone |

Google Voice Transcribes Voicemail Into Email

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 12, 2009 - 7:45am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) on Thursday introduced a new service, Google Voice, that will transcribe a user's voicemail messages into text, and email or text message the transcript to an email account. Google Voice will initially be available to existing users of GrandCentral, a service the company acquired in July 2007, and open to all users in the coming weeks.
tags: Mobile | Google | Skype | Google Voice |

Nokia to Integrate Skype Internet Phone Service Onto Mobiles

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2009 - 1:48pm.
Barcelona - Skype, the Internet phone service owned by eBay (NASD: EBAY), on Tuesday announced a deal with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to bundle its service on a range of Nokia mobile phones. Set to first become available on the Nokia N97 in the third quarter, the service will let mobile callers use 3G and WLAN to make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls, as well as low-cost Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices.

tags: Mobile | eBay | Skype | Nokia |

Nimbuzz Introduces Free Mobile VoIP, IM for Social Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2008 - 11:27am.

London - Nimbuzz on Tuesday introduced its free mobile VoIP and instant messaging service, which enables free calls, instant messaging and group chat on over 500 supported handsets across services including Skype, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, MSN and 23 social networks including Facebook and MySpace. Available now as a beta in the U.K., the service works on Nokia Symbian Series 60 devices connected to a 3G or Wi-Fi network, and also offers a hybrid VoIP for GPRS/EDGE, allowing users to make international mobile calls at local dial-in cost.

tags: Mobile | Social Networking | VOIP | Skype | Nimbuzz |

Sony: 1.2M PS3s Sold Over Holidays; Skype Coming to PSP

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 7, 2008 - 8:54am.

Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) (NYSE: SNE) said on Monday that it sold 1.2 million PlayStation 3 consoles during the holidays, along with 1.4 million PSP handhelds and 1.3 million units of the PlayStation 2. The holidays timeframe was defined as Nov. 23 through Dec. 31.

tags: Games | Sony | PSP | Skype | Retail | PlayStation 3 |

Apple, Others Sued by Klausner Over Voicemail Patents

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2007 - 11:24am.

Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL), AT&T (NYSE: T), Skype (NASD: EBAY) and cable TV operators including Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) and Cablevision have been sued for patent infringement by Klausner Technologies, over patents that cover certain attributes of voicemail that give users visual notification of incoming messages, and allow selective retrieval of messages.

tags: Mobile | Law | Lawsuits | Apple | AT&T | Comcast | Patents | Skype | Cablevision | Cellphones | iPhone | Klausner Technologies |

MySpace, Skype to Offer Free Internet Phone Calls to Users

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 17, 2007 - 11:51am.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace online social network announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Skype, the Internet telephone service owned by eBay, to enable MySpace's 110 million users and Skype's 220 million users to call each other for free using Skype.

tags: Social Networking | MySpace | VOIP | Skype | MySpaceIM |

Skype Adds Online Video-Sharing to Internet Telephone Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 7, 2007 - 4:35pm.

Luxembourg - Skype, the Internet telephone service unit of eBay, on Tuesday added the ability to share online video in their Skype chats, and add videos downloaded from Dailymotion and Metacafe to their Skype "moods," the name for a Skype user's online profile.

tags: Video | eBay | Skype | Video-Sharing | Metacafe | User-Generated | Dailymotion |
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