Vonage Get a Reprieve
On Friday Morning a district court judge in Virginia entered an injunction against Vonage. The injunction barred Vonage from adding any new customers as part of resolution of its patent spat with Verizon. The injunction follows a jury verdict awarding Verizon $ 58 Million for patent infringement.
Later on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit entered a stay preventing the new customer ban from going into effect. It also gave Verizon until Friday to respond to the stay. Only time will tell if Verizon's claim will stand up or, as some in the industry claim, Verizon is competing through litigation. Either way, other VoIP providers will be listening carefully.
Later on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit entered a stay preventing the new customer ban from going into effect. It also gave Verizon until Friday to respond to the stay. Only time will tell if Verizon's claim will stand up or, as some in the industry claim, Verizon is competing through litigation. Either way, other VoIP providers will be listening carefully.
Rand,
I'm curious your thoughts on this issue, and I had a few questions. First, is it possible for Verizon to appeal for more money? Second, assuming the stay is successfully overturned, how long would it generally take for the first appeal process to take its course?
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Nick,
Normally it will take about 9 months to a year for the briefing to be completed and the matter heard by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Vonage will seek a reversal of the judgment. Verizon will probably cross appeal the failure of the judge to enter an injunction barring any use of the patented technology. Both parties could also appeal the amount of the judgment, although it is usually harder to get a bump up than a bump down.
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