Jury Orders Vonage To Pay $58 Million To Verizon

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ A federal jury on Thursday found that Internet phone carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. had infringed on Verizon Communications Inc.'s patents and ordered Vonage to pay $58 million.

Thursday, March 8th 2007, 2:59 pm

By: News On 6

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ A federal jury on Thursday found that Internet phone carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. had infringed on Verizon Communications Inc.'s patents and ordered Vonage to pay $58 million.

The judgment is far less than the $197 million that Verizon had requested, and it was more in line with what Vonage had suggested _ if the Holmdel, N.J.-based company was found liable.

Still undetermined is whether Vonage will be barred from using Verizon's technology. Following the verdict, attorneys for New York-based Verizon requested a permanent injunction barring Vonage from further use of the patented technology.

A hearing on the request was scheduled for March 23.

Verizon sued Vonage last year for infringing on five patents that it said Vonage uses to make its Internet telephone service network functional. The eight-person jury found Vonage infringed on three of the five patents.

The jury found in its verdict that Vonage's infringement was not willful. That means Verizon cannot collect triple damages, which can be awarded in patent infringement cases.