Skype founders take on eBay

San Francisco - A company owned by the founders of Skype has filed a copyright suit against the internet phone service and parent eBay, an action that could crimp plans to sell Skype for about $2bn to a group of private investors.

Joltid Ltd, owned by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, filed the suit Wednesday in the Northern California US District Court. They allege Skype violated an agreement related to the use of peer-to-peer communication technology that Skype licensed from Joltid for use in its software, which routes calls over the Web.

Friis and Zennstrom sold Skype to eBay for $2.6bn in 2005 and left the company a couple of years later.

Joltid is seeking an injunction on Skype's use of the technology as well as damages it says could total more than $75m per day.

- AP