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Vonage Ordered to Pay $58M to Verizon in VoIP Patent Dispute
Verizon Communications has won a $58M (USD) patent verdict against Internet phone provider Vonage. A Virginia jury found Vonage liable for infringement of three of seven Verizon patents that cover the technology to connect Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) calls to the regular telephone network, as well as features related to call-waiting and voicemail. The award was a fraction of the $197M sought by Verizon. Vonage has announced its intentions to appeal.
Vonage faces further business risks related to this dispute. The U.S. District Court is scheduled to hear Verizon’s request to impose an injunction on March 23, 2007. The Verizon and Vonage battle harkens to NTP and RIM where an injunction was granted but stayed pending an appeal. Though a losing party may continue its operations during the stay, consumers may be reluctant to sign up for a service that is at risk of being shut down.
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