Skype and Kazaa named in StreamCast lawsuit
Published: 28 Mar 2006 09:30 BST
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, claims that StreamCast owns the technology underlying Internet-calling provider Skype's software.
Also named as
defendants are Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who are
also the developers behind the Kazaa file-swapping software. StreamCast
and Kazaa have argued in the past over software licensing fees.
"We have filed a suit alleging RICO and other claims, and we
intend to litigate it aggressively. At this time, we have no other
comments," James Baker, the lead plaintiff attorney representing
StreamCast, told CNET News.com.
RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act. While the full complaint has not been made available
on the court's Web site, Skype and Kazaa are respectively named first
and fourth as defendants in the case, indicating they have a
significant role in the suit.
A representative for Skype declined to comment on the case.
eBay, which acquired the Luxembourg-based company for $2.5 billion in
October 2005, was not named in the suit, and the company could not be
reached for comment. Representatives from Kazaa, or its owners Sharman
Networks, could not be reached.
Baker said the case has recently been reassigned to U.S.
District Court Judge Steven V. Wilson. Wilson is the same judge who
presided over the MGM Studios vs. Grokster case concerning peer-to-peer
technology that ultimately went to the Supreme Court. Baker went before
Wilson in that landmark case as the lead defense counsel for
StreamCast.
Other plaintiffs in the StreamCast case include Joltid, Joltid
Ou Blastoise, Bluemoon, LA Galiote, Indigo Investment, Brilliant
Digital Entertainment, Sharman Networks, Altnet CEO Kevin Bermeister
and several "John Does."
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