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SURFSTITCH has severed ties with Streamline, the IT services company owned by its estranged co-founder Justin Cameron as the two businesses prepare for a fight over intellectual property.
It is a sign of the bitter fight between Cameron (pictured) and the online surf retail business that he co-founded alongside Lex Pedersen, who remains a director of the ompany.
The pair were joint CEOs until Cameron resigned from his role in March 2016 to launch a takeover bid that never happened. Pedersen then took up the reigns of the company alongside Justin Stone, but late last year both resigned from their executive positions.
Cameron kept tight-lipped about his exit until SurfStitch made sensational claims that he allegedly breached "statutory and fiduciary duties" as part of a deal with Three Crowns Investments subsidiary CoastalComms, which he strenuously denied.
The allegations were made as part of SurfStitch's defence against legal action brought by Three Crowns, which owns a major stake of the company and previously tried to launch a takeover.
Today's announcement outlines yet another legal stoush for the beleaguered SurfStitch over undisclosed intellectual property.
Lawyers for Streamline have indicated that the business asserts "certain rights and obligations relating to the prior contractual relationship between the parties".
"These rights and obligations, including the ownership and control of certain intellectual property rights, are disputed," says the statement.
According to SurfStitch, the Streamline lawyers are yet to "clearly identify" the disputed rights, and no specification has been provided as to the ownership or extent of the rights.
"As a consequence, the possible scope and impact of the dispute upon the company are currently unclear," says the statement, adding that SurfStitch will make further updates on any further material developments.
In trading early this afternoon on the ASX, SurfStitch is down 2.7 per cent at $0.18. It is a far cry from the company's 12-month high of $1.84 per share. The share price halved in August last year after the company announced a $155 million loss.
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