PayPal: Lawsuit designed to delay IPO

PayPal said Monday that it has filed a response to the lawsuit that kept if from making its initial public offering last week. CertCo, a privately held, New York-based online security company, filed a lawsuit alleging that PayPal's electronic payment system infringed one of its patents. The move caused PayPal to delay its IPO, which had been slated for Feb. 7.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, PayPal called the lawsuit a deliberate attempt to "disrupt our initial public offering." The company also said its response to the lawsuit denies the claim, on the grounds that CertCo's patent was issued two years ago, and PayPal started offering its service for more than two years ago.