Attn: Skype users
 

Skype could be shut down :confused: permanently!

Skype could be cut off for good over dispute - Times Online

Trial's not till Jun '10. By then, Ebay might have its own software to replace the disputed 1s and 0s. If so, the service continues, and Ebay spins off Skype, presumably for a tidy profit. If not, Ebay's got court risk, and the $2B+ plus they sunk into buying Skype starts to look like a bad deal. Might have been during Meg Whitman (potential California guv contender)'s time. Hope it doesn't affect her; she'd be good for the state.

I’ve been following this dispute for some time…

If eBay creates its own software I hope Skype’s founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis come up with an even better version of Skype...

Those guys are true geniuses and selling Skype to eBay was great for their wallets ($2.6B [YES - Billion] + yearly management performance bonuses estimated to be an additional $1.2B!!! :eek:) but not so good for Skype…

Initially eBay wanted to incorporate Skype into each eBay account sort of like they’ve done with PayPal and that’s why Niklas and Janus decided to sell Skype to eBay while maintaining some decision making in running the company…

However, apparently the creators of Skype feel that eBay has backtracked on the original plans and they don’t approve of eBay’s tweaking of the code; the intellectual rights to the code still belong to Niklas and Janus…

Personally I think eBay will settle this before they shut it down… The founders want more control of where Skype is heading and frankly it might be a good idea to let those guys run the show; after all, they do know what they’re doing!


PS. Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are the same guys who created Kazaa for those who remember the pre-Napster file sharing program and the more recent Joost.

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eBay to Acquire Skype - About Skype