Skype owns anything developed on the SkypeAPI.

If you have developed any product that uses the SkypeAPI, Skype maintains all rights to your source code, products and revenues.

Skype EULA :

3.3 You acknowledge and agree that any IP Rights arising directly from the API are the exclusive ownership of Skype or its licensors without any compensation to You. Insofar as necessary, this Agreement serves as a deed of assignment of all of Your right, title and interest in and to such API modifications to Skype, notwithstanding Your obligation to cooperate with Skype in order finalize any other deed upon Skype’s first request. You hereby irrevocably waive to the extent permitted by law any moral rights relating to YourAPI modifications. You furthermore represent and warrant that (a) You are authorized to assign Your rights as stated above and (b) Your API modifications are correct and accurate and (c) the API modifications do not infringe upon any third parties’ rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights.

http://www.skype.com/company/legal/eula/

This is a very concerning clause. It is not only a question if Skype would enforce this (of course they would only bother if you became very successful) but if you were to attempt to get funding or sell your source code/IP to someone else this clause is a liablity. Of course this would negatively impact any due diligence process.

So, you are working for Skype for free. And Skype has made sure that if your service becomes more successful than one of their own commericial offerings they may quash you.

Is this Skype cynicism or simply overzealous lawyers at Skype?

Horrible...

Hauntingly I came across an article somewhere recently about Skype being a wannabe Microsoft... then about half an hour ago someone told me that Microsoft bought Skype 2 days ago.

Wow... I can't find any mention of that anywhere! Someone tell me he's pulling my leg.

Too bad skype works so damn well... today I'm sitting behind a firewall at one of the world's most 'safe network' companies. My xten has no chance of getting out - but skype logs me in happily as though the firewall wasn't even there.

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Too bad skype works so damn well... today I'm sitting behind a firewall at one of the world's most 'safe network' companies.

You'll always need some ports open, and anything LAN side of the firewall can get out. That's all Skype needs. What it means is someone is proxying your audio traffic (no matter how much Skype deny that).

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Is this Skype cynicism or simply overzealous lawyers at Skype?

Whatever it is it's disgusting. I guess Skype rely on the fact that people will develop for it regardless. It will be very interesting to see what a judge makes of it when it gets to Court though (which I suspect it will at some point).

Dean

Skype EULA :

3.3 You acknowledge and agree that any IP Rights arising directly from the API are the exclusive ownership of Skype or its licensors without any compensation to You. Insofar as necessary, this Agreement serves as a deed of assignment of all of Your right, title and interest in and to such API modifications to Skype, notwithstanding Your obligation to cooperate with Skype in order finalize any other deed upon Skype’s first request. You hereby irrevocably waive to the extent permitted by law any moral rights relating to YourAPI modifications. You furthermore represent and warrant that (a) You are authorized to assign Your rights as stated above and (b) Your API modifications are correct and accurate and (c) the API modifications do not infringe upon any third parties’ rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights.

Does that mean the above Skype EULA also implies developers can't patch their Skypeable programs with SIP codes to make Skype inter-operable with SIP?

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to such API modifications

I don't understand the EULA. I don't know if it means:

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If you have developed any product that uses the SkypeAPI, Skype maintains all rights to your source code, products and revenues.

or:

If you change Skype API, then the changes are Skype's property. BTW, they said the API would be Open Source. This is far from it.

Skype has conceded their EULA on this point is ambiguous and say they will be reviewing...

http://forum.skype.com/viewtopic.php?p=113286#113286

So if a company develop for Skype then they can make nothing (financially) from the efforts. Presumably though this will be offset by the £££ they'll charge for an associated piece of hardware (usb phone handset etc,,).

Surely this will ultimately limit skype -- once the market is full of skype handsets you might otherwise expect vendors to start differentiating by adding clever sofware features. But with this licence why would they want to do that.

It could effectively strangle the creativity of the skype community

(but then I'm no lover of skype so I would say that!).