The founders of patent brokerage IPotential have split — and it’s as sour as week-old goat milk in the San Mateo, Calif., sun.

Joe Chernesky, president of IPotential, claims that CEO Ron Epstein tried to buy him out of the lucrative business, and when that didn’t work, pushed him out. The fight between the two former friends culminated when Epstein allegedly disconnected Chernesky’s computer access and demanded his keys to the office on Dec. 31.