Source: voipcentral.org

The high sensitive paten infringement row between Vonage and Verizon has received Federal verdict today. Giving its verdict in favor of Verizon, the Virginia court has ordered Vonage to pay $58 million to Verizon Communications for violating on three of the companys patents.

Vonage has also been asked to pay Verizon 5.5 percent of the revenues that the company acquired by using Verizons patents. The Federal court will hear next round of arguments on 23 March to decide the fate of Vonage.

It seems that if both the companies fail to reach a consensus, Vonage may be prevented from providing VoIP services temporarily.

However, Vonage still maintains its strong voice. In its official site, the company says,

We are delighted that the jury rejected Verizon’s meritless claim that we infringed their two billing patents. Of the seven patents Verizon originally sued on, they prevailed on only three and we expect that verdict to be reversed on appeal. The jury’s damage award represents a 70% reduction from Verizon’s $197MM claim. The jury also unanimously rejected Verizon’s claim that Vonage willfully infringed its patents.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Image from /.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied a motion filed two weeks ago by a group of Internet telephone companies who claim the regulations are unreasonable.
The e911 requirements were reported here on this blog a few times in the past, read here, here, here and here.
In May, the FCC ordered providers of Internet-based phone calls, commonly called Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to certify that their customers will be able to reach an emergency dispatcher when they call 911. Dispatchers also must be able to identify the caller’s phone number and location. Subsequently, date got pushed many a times and was set to Nov 28 with certain guidelines. Read this about the new FCC site Dedicated to e911 issues.

Jason Talley, president and chief executive of Overland Park, Kan.-based Nuvio Inc., which filed the motion for a stay on Nov. 1, said the FCC’s decision ultimately reduces alternatives for customers and stifles innovation.

Three other companies that later joined Nuvio’s suit, Lightyear Network Solutions LLC; McLean, Primus Telecommunications Group Inc.’s subsidiary Lingo Inc.; and i2 Telecom International Inc. will continue to pursue their appeal of the regulations.
Many other news sites carry the news, since VOIP and IP Telephony is now mainstream media items.