Andy Abramson just scored a big scoop. He has discovered that Kazaa, Skype, its co-founders Niklas Zennstrom, Janus Friis and several related parties have been sued for RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violations by their rival StreamCast Networks, a company that made Morpheus peer-to-peer software. The suit was filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles.
StreamCast as you might remember was butting heads with the RIAA which had sued Morpheus, Grokster and Kazaa. This most recent legal action is most intriguing, and it would be interesting to read the full complaint and if anyone has access to the documents drop me an email. That would be a rather juicy read. This is yet another headache for folks at eBay, who snapped up Skype for $4.1 billion last year. I will add further details, as the story unfolds.
5 comments so far
7:48 AM PT
Burn Hot, Burn Fast - Skype’s PR Demise?
Skype is blowing it, particularly in the public relations department. Yahoo! recently beta launched Yahoo! Messenger with Voice … and nothing really came out from Skype or its PR department or firm.
9:37 AM PT
Can someone elaborate just a little on the nature of this lawsuit? To me, it sounds like organized crime or the mafia. RICO???
9:43 AM PT
Does Meg Whitman of eBay have any kind of unclean record?
11:39 AM PT
Why would a company like Streamcast bring charges, and not the Federal government?
Much to be answered.
12:15 PM PT
well we shall get all the answers once we get hold of the complaint - which I have not seen as yet. Tomorrow morning hopefully. I am going to refrain from saying anything until i read this complaint.
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