Vonage
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Vonage talking with AT&T, hopes to settle patent suit soon
The roller coaster ride that is Vonage's litigation trail is hitting yet another high point, that is, if you consider paying out "just" $39 million a positive. Reportedly, the internet telephony firm is "in talks" with AT&T to settle a patent suit filed just last month, but no hands have shook on anything just yet. If you'll recall, this would be the fourth settlement reached by Vonage in the last two months, but alas, it'd still walk away from the table a cool $39 million lighter. No, we don't know if this nightmare will ever end for Vonage, but at least it looks to be headed in the right direction (if only momentarily).
Vonage settles with Verizon, owes up to $117.5 million
The world's favorite ATM is being hit up for even more coin today, as Vonage (presumably begrudgingly) agreed to resolve the patent lawsuit between it and Verizon. Reportedly, the actual amount that the VoIP provider will be forced to pay "depends on how the Court of Appeals decides Vonage's pending petition for rehearing regarding two of the Verizon patents." The breakdown is like so: if Vonage wins rehearing on either patent in question "or if the injunction is vacated," it'll owe $80 million. If the outfit doesn't win rehearing on either patent or "if the stay is lifted reinstating the injunction," it will soon find its thinning wallet a full $117.5 million lighter. Sounds like a prototypical lose-lose situation (or win-win, depending on perspective).
AT&T slaps Vonage with yet another lawsuit
Just when you thought Vonage may be catching a breather from the total barrage of lawsuits it has been hit with of late, along comes none other than AT&T to prove you wrong. Reportedly, the company has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Madison, Wisconsin alleging that Vonage unlawfully violated a 1996 patent filing that "broadly describes the idea of routing telephone calls over data networks like the internet." It sounds as though the fledgling VoIP provider is hoping to resolve the dispute before it goes to trial, but it did note that it "couldn't guarantee" such an outcome. We're tempted to ask how Vonage's year could get any worse, but quite frankly, we're not so sure we'd like the answer.
Switched On: Cap'n magicJack's port of call
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:
