Judge Slaps Injunction On Vonage

Order Bars Internet Phone Company From Signing Up New Customers

(AP)  A judge on Friday issued an injunction that effectively bars Internet phone carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. from signing up new customers as punishment for infringing on patents held by Verizon Communications Inc.

Vonage planned an immediate appeal.

Vonage's lawyers said the compromise injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton was almost as devastating as an injunction that would have affected Vonage's 2.2 million existing customers.

"It's the difference of cutting off oxygen as opposed to the bullet in the head," Vonage lawyer Roger Warin said.

Verizon's lawyers had suggested the compromise injunction as a way to avoid shutting down Vonage's entire network.

Last month, a jury in Alexandria found that Vonage infringed on three patents held by Verizon and awarded Verizon $58 million plus future royalties of 5.5 percent on revenue obtained through continued use of the infringed patents.

On March 23, Hilton went even further, issuing a permanent injunction barring Vonage from further use of the patented technology. But he delayed putting it into effect until Friday's hearing, where he replaced it with the compromise suggested by Verizon.

Hilton said he would wait until next Thursday to enter Friday's order, giving Vonage time to appeal.

Hilton has said that awarding royalties to Verizon was insufficient, given a competitive climate in which Vonage continues to gain subscribers at Verizon's expense.

If the compromise injunction stands, Vonage's existing customers won't have their phone service disrupted.

In court papers filed Wednesday, Verizon said that if a full injunction were implemented, it "would cause virtually all of (Vonage's) customers to leave for another provider."

Vonage officials have said that Verizon overstates the patents' importance and that they have a strong likelihood of getting the verdict overturned.

Rebecca Arbogast, a telecom analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, says Verizon was smart to offer the compromise because it is nearly as effective as a total injunction and is more likely to hold up on appeal.

"I think Verizon's legal strategy has been very aggressive and very effective," she said. "Vonage doesn't have very many attractive options except to hope for an emergency stay."

[fixitj-2009]

We all known about how Verizon and AT&T got caught giving our records to BushCo in violation of the Bill of Rights, while Vonage refused to cooperate with his secret police.

Now we see Verizon getting rewarded at the expense of Vonage. Hmm go figure; probably just a coincidence.

Anyways, I use Vonage and will never use Verizon or AT&T; as they both lied to their customers. If you don't mind people listening into your telephone conversations; you should be able to charge them, rather than paying to provide these creeps some entertainment.

Personally, I don't wish to support big brother's illegal attempts to spy on American's; that's why I won't ever use Verizon or AT&T again. Besides, Vonage has provided very good service to me for over 3 years now.

[fairandbal]

Just rewards for Vonage. i was a Vonage customer for a month and left because they lied to me. I was told repeatedly that they would be able to transfer my existing number over and when it finally got past the 30 day full refund for canceling period, they told me it was impossible to transfer my existing number.
No punishment is too much for Vonage and their predator sales tactics.

[formrusmcsgt]

Since the folks at Vonage like lifting other's work without paying for it, you'd think they would have stolen some decent music while they were at it......

[formrusmcsgt]

Good! Now we won't have to listen to any more Vonage commercials with that absolutely stupid music!

[volkswagen6]

Vonage provided an amazing service to me when Verizon apparently did nothing comparable with the technology. If my Vonage service is impacted by this, I'll boycott Verizon on every front.

[omega39-2009]

wooho wooho ho ho, whoes singing now. lol
Posted by criminalgirl...

Criminalgirl, the public at large including the judge are tired of hearing that song ad nauseam, he probably slapped an injunction on them to silence it.

[criminalgirl]

wooho wooho ho ho, whoes singing now. lol