Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) pioneer Vonage, has lost another major court case involving patent infringement. A federal court ruled that Vonage had intentionally used patented Sprint technologies related to transmitting telephone calls over the Internet. The legal setback was the second one this year for Vonage. Earlier this year Vonage lost a similar case to Verizon.
There is tremendous potential for trouble for Vonage customers. Another VoIP provider, SunRocket abruptly went out of business in July. SunRocket customers were given no notice of the disruption and many had their service interrupted while they scrambled to find another provider.
If you are a Vonage customer, there is no immediate danger. Vonage is appealing both the Spring and Verizon verdicts. It could take years before the cased make their way through the court system. However, you may want to make contingency plans just in case or make a switch now to play it safe.
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