Verizon Drops VOIP Patent Suit on Vonage

Vonage takes another one on the chin as, out of nowhere, telecommunication giant Verizon claims Vonage's VOIP technology violates its patents.

Telecommunications giant Verizon has filed suit in a U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia, against VOIP operator Vonage, claiming Vonage’s VOIP technology violates seven Verizon patents. And it’s a pretty heady complaint, asking that the court shut down Vonage because it’s infringing on core Verizon patents covering transferring data between packet-switched and circuit-switched networks.

The lawsuit is another thorn in the side for Vonage, which is currently facing class action lawsuits from customers claiming the company violated stock security regulations in its much-publicized but lackluster IPO in late May. Verizon’s lawsuit makes the wound sting even more by citing declarations in Vonage’s IPO filings as evidence of infringement.

If Verizon makes good its case, Vonage would undoubtedly have to pay royalties on the technologies found to belong to Verizon, in addition to domages and any other penalities assessed by the court. For its part, Vonage has acknowledged the suit but stresses it believes its technology was either developed in-house or licensed appropriately from third parties, and it intends to vigorously defend itself. According to Vonage, Verizon did not confront the company prior to filing suit.

The possible merits of Verizon’s case are difficult to asses at first blush: most VOIP technology is based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), an open standard to which Verizon has no patent claim.