Skype close to settlement?

Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis may be nearing a settlement with Skype over use of the core technology of the service. Previously, the founders and eBay, the company who purchased Skype back in 2005 for $2.6 billion, came to blows over use of the core technology, which eBay licensed rather than purchased outright. More recently, eBay said it planned to spin Skype out as its own company, which rubbed the founders the wrong way thanks to some intertwined personal drama between the new Skype investors and the founders. The founders then threatened to pull the license to Skype's core technology which would cause the service to be legally unable to operate.

Now, a settlement could mean Skype could keep the lights on while pursuing a spin-off. Om Malik, who is reporting this latest twist, failed to cite any sources, nor provide any specific details, but he is a Silicon Valley insider who could have knowledge of the talks, if there are any. We'd expect this to come to some sort of resolution fairly soon.