The ruling came as I had expected – Vonage lost out to Verizon in the lawsuit filed against it. Vonage has been found guilty on three accounts of patent infringement and has been asked to pay $58 million in damages and 5.5 % royalty rate on future sales. Verizon also wants that Vonage should not use these technologies and the company is all set to appeal against it. The judgment day saw Vonage lose more than 14% of its share value on the NYSE.
Mind you Vonage has still not made a profit and if it is asked to pay this heavy amount then probably its future of the company would be in doldrums. Though compared to other judgments it's not a big one but it could have some devastating effects on Vonage. It is being said that Verizon filed this lawsuit in order to eliminate its competitor and to some it seems to be just the start as the company may start picking up other VoIP companies for patent infringement and if the judgment goes against them then some of them might even perish.
On the other hand Vonage has assured its customers that their service would not be interrupted after it lost out to Verizon in the patent infringement case. Verizon has already filed for an injunction barring Vonage from future use of patents and a hearing is scheduled on the 23rd of March. Has the revenge ended? Probably no, this is the just the beginning!!
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