Ebay’s attempt to offload Skype to a group of investors just got even more complicated.

Joost and Joltid, the companies owned by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against Mike Volpi and Index Ventures, two of the players in the group seeking to buy Skype. If granted in full, the injunction would essentially ban Mr Volpi and Index from participating in the deal for the time being.

The motion is the latest move in a legal onslaught from Mr Zennstrom and Mr Friis that began even before the current deal for Skype was announced, and seems designed either to get them control of Skype or, more likely, make sure they get a piece of the action after a sale.

Already Mr Zennstrom and Mr Friis sued Ebay in a London court earlier this year. Then last month Joltid filed a copyright infringement suit in a California court against the investor group, Ebay and the Skype management team, saying that damages were amassing at a rate of $75m a day.

That same week, Joost and Joltid filed a suit in a Delaware court against Mr Volpi and Index Ventures, accusing Mr Volpi of abusing his position as a former chairman and chief executive of Joost and stealing key technical information.

Today’s motion is a continuation of the Delaware case, and levels more vitriolic claims against Mr Volpi and Index. It begins:

“This action arises out of the acts of a faithless fiduciary, defendant Michelangelo Volpi, who, despite being the chief executive and Chairman of Joost, embarked on a systematic scheme to breach his fiduciary duties and promote his own self-aggrandizing campaign to become the next chairman of internet telephony leader Skype Inc.”

On a practical level, Joost and Joltid are asking a judge to prevent Mr Volpi and Index from participating in any planning about Skype’s future, and from talking to or soliciting employees from Joost or Joltid, an indication that there may have been some poaching going on.

While the various lawsuits aren’t set to move through the courts until next year, a judge could rule on this motion much sooner, potentially throwing a wrench in the deal-making process.

The moves come even as Mr Zennstrom and Mr Friis are closing down Joost, and starting up a new music venture.

Meanwhile, Skype is reported to be in negotiations to buy VOIP startup Gizmo5. This could provide Skype with a replacement for the peer-to-peer software it licenses from Joost, an uneasy arrangement that has sparked three lawsuits and counting.

Tags: ebay, gizmo5, janus friis, joltid, joost, mike volpi, niklas zennstrom, skype

October 15, 2009 1:24am in Internet, Telecoms | Comment