To recap… Verizon went after Vonage, claiming patent infringement. The jury agreed that Vonage infringed on three of Verizon’s patents, ordering $56 million in repayment plus future royalties. The court seemed to move towards a total injunction, but yesterday GigaOm reported on Verizon’s propsal:
Judge Claude Hilton has issued an injunction that bars Vonage from signing up new customers. “It’s the difference of cutting off oxygen as opposed to the bullet in the head,” Vonage lawyer Roger Warin told the Associated Press. Still the 2.2 million Vonage customers can breathe a sigh of relief – their phone service is not going to be turned off this weekend.
Which was quickly followed by a stay:
Vonage has been granted a temporary stay from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, the company said. The company is now able to continue signing up new customers.
As a Vonage customer, I’ve been following this story. I find their service adequate and their customer service poor. I’ll have no problem (and will shed no tears) finding another provider, or going without, should they get shut down.