Vonage catches a lucky break
Vonage may finally be catching a lucky break. The company has supposedly signed a deal with a company called VoIP Inc. that sells wholesale VoIP services, which could save the company from having to shut down its service due to an impending injunction.
The deal could give Vonage a work-around for at least two of the three Verizon Communications patents that Vonage has been found to infringe. In March, a federal jury found that Vonage's VoIP services infringed on three patents owned by Verizon. While the jury found that Vonage did not knowingly infringe on Verizon's patents, it did award the telecom company $58 million in damages.
A few weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said he would issue an injunction barring Vonage from using the technology that uses the patents Vonage is infringing. But he also could stay his injunction while Vonage appeals the case. The injunction order is expected to be signed Friday.
But will this new deal really save Vonage? Or will the company still be forced to shut down service and pay royalties to Verizon? Stay tuned. I'll have more on the matter later today in a feature on CNET News.com.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
