Remember that $69.5 million a federal jury ordered Vonage to pay Sprint Nextel last month over stolen patents? Yeah, that number wasn't quite high enough it turns out. The two companies reached an $80 million agreement today that puts an official end to the patent dispute, according to the Associated Press, although Vonage isn't out of the infringing woods yet.
Another jury recently awarded Verizon a cool $58 million in infringement damages, plus 5.5 percent royalties on all future revenues after finding that Vonage used three of Verizon's patents. That suit is ongoing and Vonage claims it has deployed workarounds for at least two of the patented technologies.
Even defunct VoIP provider SunRocket is getting in on the litigation free-for-all. The company appointed to liquidate SunRocket's assets is also suing Vonage for using a list of 200,000 former subscribers after talks between the two companies fell through.
Nevertheless, today's $80 million settlement will at least buy the beleaguered VoIP company the ability to use Sprint's portfolio of more than 100 patents, which was apparently enough to push Vonage shares up $1.42 to close at $2.57. For perspetive, Vonage's stock went public last year at $17 a share.
Photo: knicknac
See Also:
- Vonage to Pay Sprint $69.5 Million Over Patent Infringement
- Vonage Reports Strong Quarter, Possible Patent Solutions
- Vonage Fights For Last VoIP Gasp In Court
- Vonage First Quarter Results Paint Dark Picture
- Denied! Vonage Loses Bid For Retrial
- Vonage Asks For New Patent Trial
- Vonage Launches ‘Free To Compete’ Campaign Against Verizon
