Vonage gets partial remand in Verizon case

Vonage is downplaying an appeals court decision affirming an earlier verdict of patent infringement on two patents owned by Verizon.

The decision, made Wednesday, calls for the U.S. District Court in Virginia to retry the infringement judgment on a third patent. It also vacated the original $58 million in damages and 5.5 percent royalty imposed in the original judgment.

The decision comes a day after Vonage lost another high profile patent infringement case brought by Sprint-Nextel. The jury in that case awarded Sprint $69.5 million in damages. Vonage vowed to appeal that decision too.

Vonage has already deployed technology so that it doesn't require the two patents upheld in the Verizon case, it said. The company maintains that it did not infringe on the remaining Verizon patent in question and plans to defend itself against any new damages judgments.

Vonage is the largest independent VoIP provider in the U.S. While it continues to assure customers that the service remains reliable throughout the legal wranglings, the company has seen a decline in new customers. In its second quarter this year, Vonage added 57,000 customer lines, compared with 256,000 in the same quarter in the previous year.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.