Skype Founders Sue eBay, Investors
online.wsj.com
online.wsj.com
( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/technology/companies/05noc... )
"But it also acknowledges that an “adverse result” could mean that the continued operation of Skype’s business as currently conducted would likely not be possible."
That's quite a statement.
And if the amounts are what they are claiming then it might make continued operation of ebay impossible, after all, ebay is selling skype in order to recover some of the money they sunk in the project.
Skype has been putting a serious damper ebays balance sheet the last couple of years, 1.9 B$ in their cash drawer is roughly 18 months profits.
I read it as being the same. The key seems to be this bit:
"It turns out that in selling Skype to eBay, Mr. Friis and Mr. Zennstrom retained control of a key part of the Skype technology, which they licensed to eBay. Although the details are under seal in a London court, the Skype founders’ essential complaint is that eBay tampered with their software, and in doing so, violated the terms of the licensing agreement. They were demanding that Skype be forced to stop using the technology, which, for all intents and purposes, would mean shutting down Skype itself. The case is set for trial in 2010."
Sorry for muddying the waters.
Btw, if you follow the link to the article from google news you can read it.