It seems that Net2Phone has decided to take legal action against the popular VoIP service Skype.

Net2Phone claims that they had originally filed a patent in 2000 for usage of the popular VoIP technology and that Skype, a subsidiary of EBay has infringed upon that. Net2Phone claims that U.S. Patent 6,108,704 was broken, which calls for the development of a communications link using an internet protocol.

Both companies are currently active competitors in the VoIP market which allow users to talk to each other from PC to PC, or computer to telephone through means of the internet.  The lawsuit was officially filed Thursday at the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.  Neither company has released any sort of official statement, with EBay spokespeople saying that they have not yet been served with the complaint as of yet.

Started in 2003, Skype is clearly the largest Voice over Protocol today with an estimated 54 million registered users, before EBay purchased the company in September of 2005, for $2.6 billion.  The company has been nothing but profitable, by the end of the first quarter of 2006 Skype has already acquired 95 million registered users, causing a 42% jump in revue.  While Net2Phone hasn't been doing too badly, up 19% from last year’s growth, this swift legal tactic maybe just what the company needs to grow from under Skype's shadow.