Vonage has settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Sprint, agreeing to pay $80 million. Vonage has also struck a deal with Sprint to license their technology, a move that helped boost Vonage’s stock, according to the NYT.

Sprint declined to make its executives available for comment, and Vonage executives did not return phone calls. But in a release, Vonage’s general counsel, Sharon A. O’Leary, said the company was pleased to put the lawsuit behind it and “enter into a productive future relationship” with Sprint.

Verizon recently sued Vonage for patent infringement and won, in what seems like a very effective strategy to drive them out of business.

Vonage, even though they lost their appeal, downplayed the damage that Verizon’s lawsuit was having, claiming that had “workarounds.” From InformationWeek:

Vonage has said it has begun rolling out an alternative solution that does not violate the Verizon patents, which cover the way Internet calls are routed over traditional phone switches and are considered much more fundamental than the Sprint technology to the functioning of the Vonage network. No settlement plans have been announced in the Verizon case, and Vonage has been mulling its legal options since its initial appeal was rejected.

A spokesperson for Verizon told the New York Times that Verizon wasn’t trying to put Vonage out of business.

Eric Rabe, a spokesman for Verizon, said the issue was not whether Verizon wanted Vonage to thrive or not, but whether Vonage followed the law. “Our incentive is to patent things; we expect those patents to be respected,” Mr. Rabe said.

Vonage Settles WIth Sprint, Still Faces Verizon Judgement[InformationWeek]
A Settlement by Vonage Over Patents [New York Times]
(Photo:diaper)

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