Court Rejects Vonage’s Request for Retrial of Verizon Patent Suit

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Court Rejects Vonage’s Request for Retrial of Verizon Patent Suit

9:12 pm on May 4, 2007 | Category: Business, VoIP, Law

A U.S. appeals court has rejected Vonage’s request for a retrial of a crippling patent infringement suit brought against the independent VoIP provider by Verizon Communications.

Vonage had argued that a landmark patent ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday was enough to fundamentally alter the basis of Verizon’s case, and that the entire trial should begin again from step one.

The Supreme Court’s ruling loosened a key legal standard used in patent cases, thus making it easier for disputed patents to be invalidated on the grounds that they cover obvious inventions.

The Federal appeals court assigned to the Verizon-Vonage case said ruled this development was not grounds for a retrial, but said that Vonage could cite the Supreme Court decision as part of its appeal.

If Vonage is unable win its appeal, and does not come up with an acceptable workaround technology, its popular VoIP service will likely be deemed an infringement on Verizon’s patents, and forced to stop signing up new customers.