Vonage disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that on Oct. 17 that AT&T had filed a patent infringement claim against the company. According to the filing, Vonage said that it intends to continue to pursue an amicable resolution of this matter, but that it cannot assure that this matter will not ultimately be litigated.

The suit was filed by AT&T in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin. AT&T is seeking injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages and attorneys’ fees in unspecified amounts. The complaint relates to a single patent for a wide area packet telephony system.

Vonage also announced last Friday that it had settled its patent dispute case with Verizon. The final cost of the settlement will depend on how an appeal is decided by the Court of Appeals. According to a prepared statement, “if Vonage wins a rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent, or if the injunction is vacated as to the '574 or '711 patent, Vonage will pay Verizon $80 million. If Vonage does not win a rehearing on either the '574 or '711 patent, or if the stay is lifted reinstating the injunction, Vonage will pay $120 million, which includes $2.5 million payable to certain charities.”

"We're pleased to put this dispute behind us and believe this settlement is in the best interests of Vonage and its customers," said Sharon O'Leary, Vonage Chief Legal Officer. "This settlement removes the uncertainty of legal reviews and long-term court action and allows us to continue focusing on our core business and customers."

Vonage is a leading provider of VoIP services with 2.45 million subscriber lines.

Next time: Minneapolis Deploys 3-1-1 Service.

Editor's note: Starting the week of  Nov. 12, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. The Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, written by analysts Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick, will be merged with the VoIP News Alert and will be newly named the Convergence & VoIP Alert. You'll get Steve and Larry's analysis of the convergence and VoIP market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's convergence news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.