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 <title>Patents</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents</link>
 <description></description>
 <language>en</language>
<item>
 <title>SPOTLIGHT:  8X8 Inc. wins video patent</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/spotlight-8x8-inc.-wins-video-patent/2008-03-17?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;After last year&#039;s litigation onslaught patents are the new way to make money in the VoIP world. 8X8 Inc now has 72 voice and video communications patents and was recently awarded it&#039;s newest patent No. 7,339,604. It relates to a videoconferencing system with &quot;a modular terminal that includes a conventional digital still camera coupled to an input port of the system.&quot; 8X8 also offers a consumer VoIP service through its Packet8 brand and earlier this year released an international calling application for mobile phones offering very cheap international calls. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/8x8-inc-awarded-new-video-patent-0&quot;&gt;Release&lt;/a&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/spotlight-8x8-inc.-wins-video-patent/2008-03-17#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:59:53 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2302 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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 <title>Microsoft challenges Avistar&#039;s UC patents</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/microsoft-challenges-avistar-s-uc-patents/2008-02-28?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
Another patent David and Goliath brawl is underway, this time between UC services company Avistar and Microsoft. The U.S. patent office is to re-examine Avistar&#039;s patents after Microsoft this week challenged 24 out of Avistar&#039;s 29 of them. The patents are in the fields of instant messaging, video conferencing and online collaboration--all key elements in unified communications.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Avistar describes Microsoft&#039;s actions as a &amp;quot;go-for-the-throat&amp;quot; maneuver that was unexpected following more than six months of cordial negotiations surrounding Microsoft&#039;s potential licensing of Avistar&#039;s intellectual property and technology. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Avistar&#039;s CEO, Simon Moss, says Microsoft&#039;s actions should be seen in the context of issues surrounding the importance of current patent law as a protection for innovation--much of which comes from small, entrepreneurial companies such as Avistar. Moss argues potential changes to patent regulations would harm smaller companies--and the economic competitiveness of the U.S. Avistar says Microsoft&#039;s &amp;quot;strong-arm&amp;quot; tactics come at the same time as the E.U. has fined the software giant $1.4 billion for breaching an anti-trust ruling. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If all procedural flaws are corrected, the patent office has about two months to decide whether to grant the requests and engage in a formal re-examination. Patent re-examination would take between six months and two years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more:&lt;br /&gt;
Avistar announces patent challenge &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/microsofy-challenges-avistar-patents/18743&quot;&gt;Release&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Related articles:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Verizon sues Charter over patents &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/verizon-sues-charter-over-voip-patents/2008-02-11&quot;&gt;Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Sprint goes to court for patent breaches &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-sues-voip-patent-infringements/2008-01-28&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt; 
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/microsoft-challenges-avistar-s-uc-patents/2008-02-28#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/microsoft">Microsoft</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/unified-communications">Unified Communications</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Tom Burton</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2268 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>VoIP Inc. claims $1.25 billion patent</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-inc.-claims-1.25-billion-patent/2008-02-14?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
VoIP Inc. is at it again. Notorious for puffing its business with relentless press releases, it has issued another claiming its click-to-call patent is worth a staggering $1.25 billion. And it has retained a California law firm to take action against 100 companies--many of which are Fortune 500 companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
VoIP Inc. share price is now below a penny after it was forced to close its VoIP business last week, and the firm has not been contactable since. But despite a gaggle of disgruntled creditors, customers and investors the company continues to issue press releases claiming it offers &amp;quot;turnkey Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications solutions for service providers, resellers and consumers worldwide.&amp;quot;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
The latest VoIP Inc. press release says that &amp;quot;based on information provided from some of the industry&#039;s leading technology experts and the fact that this (click-to-call) technology is being implemented at an ultra-hyper rate domestically and internationally, Byron T. Ball, attorney at BALL LAW FIRM, LLP, stated, &amp;quot;I believe the current value of the patent could exceed 1.25 billion dollars.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;quot;We have identified over 100 companies that have willfully infringed on our patents. We intend to stop the infringement and defend our technology and the patents behind it. These patents and the business they represent will be utilized to provide the shareholders with the value they deserve and have long awaited,&amp;quot; stated CEO Anthony Cataldo. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Neither VoIP Inc. nor Ball returned calls to explain exactly how they determined the patent was worth $1.25 billion. The action follows a flock of successful and pending VoIP patent claims by various telcos and vendors. Vonage has clocked up $240 million in patent breaches. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Florida-based VoIP Inc. has had a colorful history, starting life as a tea trading company. Its founder Steve Ivester is a convicted felon and its former chief operating officer Shawn Lewis left after pleading guilty to drug charges. Lewis declared himself bankrupt as has the company&#039;s chief accounting officer Robert Staats. Staats was the media contact for this latest press release. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more:&lt;br /&gt;
- VoIP Inc. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/voip-inc-eyes-patent-infringers-uspto-6501837&quot;&gt;Release&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- VoIP Inc. may sue you &lt;a href=&quot;http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/ip-communications/voip-inc-may-sue-you-soon.html&quot;&gt;Rich Tehrani Blog &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- VoIP Inc. lawyering up for a massive click-to-call patent infringement suit &lt;a href=&quot;http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=3216&quot;&gt;Russel Shaw Blog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- Verizon&#039;s VoIP Patent Game Continues &lt;a href=&quot;http://gigaom.com/2008/02/11/verizons-voip-patent-game-continues/&quot;&gt;Gigaom Blog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Related Articles:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/strong&gt;VoIP Inc. goes down owing Verizon $8 million &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-inc-goes-down/2008-02-11&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
VoIP Inc. takes a $24M hit, closes network and loses staff &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-inc-take-24-m-hit-it-closes-network-and-loses-staff/2008-02-07&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt; 
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-inc.-claims-1.25-billion-patent/2008-02-14#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-service-provider">VoIP Service Provider</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Tom Burton</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2235 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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 <title>Verizon sues Charter over VoIP patents</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/verizon-sues-charter-over-voip-patents/2008-02-11?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
Verizon has fired off its second patent action at a cable VoIP provider, this time against Charter Communications in Texas. Verizon is claiming eight patent breaches, a copycat of its action against Cox Communications in Virginia. Two of the patents are the same Verizon successfully sued VoIP pure play Vonage for. Vonage late last year paid $120 million to Verizon after a court found it had breached Verizon&#039;s patents.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Both actions claim damages and demand the cable companies cease using the VoIP technology. Four of the patents are about the method Cox and Charter use to connect VoIP calls. All the cable companies use PacketCable architecture--developed by the industry R&amp;amp;D house Cable Labs--to deliver their IP communications. If the actions are successful, it could affect all the cable companies, says Fred Grasso, a VoIP patent expert with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. He told &lt;em&gt;Light Reading&lt;/em&gt;: &amp;quot;An overarching theme is that it seems Verizon is picking patents that are essential to providing VoIP service.&amp;quot;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Verizon has been losing access lines as customers switch to tripleplay offerings from the cable companies. Comcast claims over four million customers, making it the fourth biggest telephony provider in the U.S. Any action  by Verizon would almost certainly be strongly defended by the deep pocketed cable company and may also see the whole vexed issue of VoIP patents taken to superior courts. Sprint has been criticized for suing a number of smaller VoIP providers for patent breaches for technology which existed well before Sprint claimed rights over it. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Four years in the making, patent reform legislation--including provisions to try and stop wide ranging patent legal actions--is stalled in Congress. The Bush administration opposes the new law.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more: &lt;br /&gt;
- Verizon sues Charter for VoIP patents &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=145413&amp;amp;site=cdn&quot;&gt;Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- If you cant beat &#039;em, sue &#039;em &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Adds-Charter-To-Its-List-of-Lawsuits-91724&quot;&gt;Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- New patent law in long line &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020902020.html&quot;&gt;Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Related articles:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/strong&gt;Sprint goes to court for patent breaches &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-sues-voip-patent-infringements/2008-01-28&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
VoIP patent landscape explained &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-patent-landscape-explained/2007-11-19&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/verizon-sues-charter-over-voip-patents/2008-02-11#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/ip-communications">IP communications</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Tom Burton</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2228 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>SPOTLIGHT:  8X8 Inc moves into profit</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/spotlight-8x8-inc-moves-profit/2008-01-31?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;IP PBX supplier, 8X8 Inc has recorded a profitable last quarter for 2007, after successive loss-making quarters. Revenue for the nine months to Dec. 31 2007 was $45 million, up 17 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Packet8 Virtual Office is the company&#039;s core product and has been deployed in 10,000 businesses. Revenue from Virtual Office sales grew sequentially 8 percent quarter over quarter. &lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;8X8 Inc has been selling off its non-core patents and sold two of its legacy, non-core patents to a third party for $1.2 million. The company will retain a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the technology covered by these patents for all of its current and future products. &lt;A href=&quot;http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQW15430012008-1.htm&quot;&gt;Release&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/spotlight-8x8-inc-moves-profit/2008-01-31#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/ip-pbx">IP PBX</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/legacy">Legacy</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2199 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>Sprint sues for VoIP patent infringements</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-sues-voip-patent-infringements/2008-01-28?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;Sprint has also gone to court, claiming 15 infringements of their patented VoIP technology by several small providers, Nuvox Communications, BroadVOX Holdings, Big River Telephone and Paetec Communications. The litigation comes after Sprint won an $80 million settlement against Vonage last year for breaches of the same patents, but rather than seek to negotiate Sprint has resorted directly to litigation and is seeking both an injunction and damages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;The litigation also follows similarly successful claims by telco giants Verizon and AT&amp;amp;T against Vonage and has highlighted growing resentment within the IP sector at&amp;nbsp; Von age&#039;s $240 million capitulation over the claims. What alternatives Vonage had is arguable, but in the case of Sprint Rich Tehrani from &lt;EM&gt;TMC&lt;/em&gt; has observed many of these companies preceded Sprints deployment of VoIP--and now face potential bankruptcy if Sprint forces its patent issue through the courts.&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Tehrani is an original VoIP evangelist and has called on the industry to come together to fight against the telcos. He says many in the industry claim the patents the telcos used against Vonage were based on technologies that existed before the patents were filed for.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;More precisely the real problem is that many of the patents claimed are for broad concepts like &quot;translating IP addresses to phone numbers&quot; rather than specific technologies. The reform legislation to change much of the nonsense that now pervades the U.S. patent process was again stalled in the Senate late last year, but has been listed again for consideration this February. The danger is in an attempt to get the legislation passed it will be further watered down, leaving the system not much better than when the legislative reform process began back in 2003&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For More:&lt;BR /&gt;- Sprint new Cash strategy &lt;A href=&quot;http://gigaom.com/2008/01/24/sprint-finds-cash-in-patent-filings/&quot;&gt;Article&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;- Summary of the history of Patent Reform &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fr.com/news/2008/Jan/Patent%20Reform%20Pres%20Dec%203.ppt%20Read-Only.pdf&quot;&gt;PDF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related articles:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage faces Sprint suit &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-faces-sprint-suit/2007-08-13&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage learns just how tough the telcos can be &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-learns-just-how-tough-telcos-are/2007-10-22&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-sues-voip-patent-infringements/2008-01-28#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2193 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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 <title>Vonage loses patent appeal</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-loses-patent-appeal/2007-11-19?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
Vonage has lost its patent appeal to Verizon and will pay an additional $37.5 million on top of the $80 million Vonage handed over to the telco giant. Vonage has paid out patent settlements to Sprint, AT&amp;amp;T and now Verizon to a tune of $240 million. Vonage had paid Verizon $80 million with an agreement to pay an additional $37.5 million if a federal court declined to hear an appeal. The court Thursday declined Vonage a hearing.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;quot;We were not surprised, but disappointed, that the court denied our request for a rehearing of the case,&amp;quot; a Vonage spokesman said. &amp;quot;We are pleased to continue putting litigation behind us and keep focusing on our core business.&amp;quot; Vonage is very focused on getting its operations in order so it is not burning cash. It&#039;s precariously balanced with liabilities of $729 million compared with assets of $666 million. CFO John Rego told analysts at the Q3 call Vonage would have about $54 million in cash at the end of Q4 which is thin when you have that much debt and every new customer costs over $200. Founder and newly returned CEO Jeffery Citron says dealing with Vonage&#039;s debt issues is the company&#039;s number one priority.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
More Reports:&lt;br /&gt;
- What&#039;s $40 Million Among Friends? &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/11/16/whats-40-million-among-friends.aspx&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Related articles:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/b&gt;- Vonage settles with AT&amp;amp;T; vows positive cash in &#039;08 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-settles-t-vows-positive-cash-08/2007-11-08&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
- Vonage learns how tough the telcos are &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-learns-just-how-tough-telcos-are/2007-10-22&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-loses-patent-appeal/2007-11-19#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2073 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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 <title>VoIP patent landscape explained</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-patent-landscape-explained/2007-11-19?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;Over at Ike Elliott&#039;s Telecosm blog he has put together an excellent summary of the VoIP patent landscape and who owns the estimated 1,000 patents claimed to operate in the VoIP sector. According to Elliott, Stanford, in fact, had the first-ever VoIP patent in 1981. Cisco these days has the most VoIP/internet telephony patents with 161 patents, followed by Nortel with 156 and AT&amp;amp;T with 145 patents.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;How a relatively simple technology like VoIP can have so many patents associated with it says a lot about whats wrong with the U.S. patent system (a view no doubt shared by Vonage).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;As Elliott explains: &quot;Having a large portfolio of good VoIP claims can really help you preserve freedom to operate a VoIP service, since you can cross-license your patents with other patent holders instead of paying royalties to each other.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Patents can be easily checked using the Google &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents&quot;&gt;patent search&lt;/a&gt; or the &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.uspto.gov/&quot;&gt;U.S. patent office site&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;More Reports:&lt;BR /&gt;- The VoIP Patent Landscape &lt;A href=&quot;http://ikeelliott.typepad.com/telecosm/2007/11/the-voip-patent.html&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related articles:&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;- Is Vonage the victim of a bad patent system? &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/is-vonage-a-victim-of-a-bad-patent-system/2007-04-30&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR /&gt;- Vonage seeks review of patent appeal &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/vonage-seeks-review-patent-appeal/2007-10-11&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-patent-landscape-explained/2007-11-19#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/cisco">Cisco</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/nortel">Nortel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-regulation">VoIP Regulation</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2071 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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 <title>Vonage settles with AT&amp;T; vows positive cash in &#039;08</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-settles-t-vows-positive-cash-08/2007-11-08?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
Embattled VoIP operator, Vonage has broken even on its operations for the third quarter and is predicting positive cash flow next year after provisionally settling its patent case with AT&amp;amp;T for $39 million. Big patent litigation payments of $133 million saw Vonage&#039;s net loss rise sharply to $161.8 million, or $1.04 a share, compared with a net loss of $62.2 million, or 40 cents a share, for the same period a yer ago. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
But a further reduction in marketing costs saw the loss from operations excluding its litigation settlement costs with Verizon and Sprint  narrow to $1 million, compared with a $53 million loss in the third quarter a year ago and an improvement from $3 million in the previous quarter. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
The Company said it expects to generate positive adjusted operating income for 2008 and said its free cash reserves had been reduced from  $356 million to $194 million, which is comprised of $154 million in free cash and $40 million in restricted cash--money set aside as part of the Verizon patent settlement. CFO John Rego told analysts he expected adjusted cash reserves at the end of Q4 to be $54 million. The market reacted positively to the results with the stock up 40 cents to $2.59 in early trading.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
A continued wind down in promotions has seen customer growth flatten with Vonage saying it now has 2.5 million subs compared with 2.45 million in June. The flattening in growth comes as the major cable companies have enjoyed big uptakes in internet voice subscriptions.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Churn continues to be an issue with an average monthly customer churn of  3.0% in the third quarter 2007--up from 2.5% in Q2--a number founder and CEO Jeffrey Citron told analysts was unacceptable. Citron said improvements would take time as the company worked on improving the service and support. This is an increase from 2.5% in the prior quarter, which Vonage said would have been 2.7% if not for the extension of the customer grace period. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Revenue for the third quarter 2007 grew to $211 million --in line with market expectations--a 30% increase from $162 million in the third quarter 2006, driven by modest customer line growth and an increase in average revenue per line. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
However average revenue per line in the third quarter 2007 was $28.24, slightly down from $28.38 reported in the second quarter 2007.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
For More:&lt;br /&gt;
-  Vonage Q3 Earnings &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/vonage-holdings-corp-reports-third-quarter-2007-results-0&quot; id=&quot;i9vd&quot; title=&quot;Release&quot;&gt;Release&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
-  CNNmoney &lt;a href=&quot;http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/26b44578676f1663463ca492c82ef04a.htm&quot; id=&quot;d3cg&quot; title=&quot;Report&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;  
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Related Article:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Vonage staunches the bleeding &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt; 
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-settles-t-vows-positive-cash-08/2007-11-08#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-phones">VoIP Phones</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2051 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>8X8 gets another patent</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/8x8-gets-another-patent/2007-11-01?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;8x8, Inc., the originator of the Packet8 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video communication services for business and residential customers, has been issued U.S. Patent No. &lt;A href=&quot;http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&amp;Sect2=HITOFF&amp;d=PALL&amp;p=1&amp;u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&amp;r=1&amp;f=G&amp;l=50&amp;s1=7,289,491.PN.&amp;OS=PN/7,289,491&amp;RS=PN/7,289,491&quot; linkindex=&quot;6&quot;&gt;7,289,491&lt;/a&gt; for an arrangement and method of Internet telephony. 8x8 said the invention covered by the patent relates generally to an arrangement that includes a telephone and an interface unit which interfaces the telephone to both a standard switched telephone communications network and an Internet communications network.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Since its establishment in 1987, 8x8 has been awarded seventy (70) United States patents covering a variety of voice and video communications and storage technologies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;For more:&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;- Read the&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;A href=&quot;http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/2007/10/8x-gets-another-voip-patent-us-patent.html&quot;&gt;release&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Articles:&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;8x8 signs up 19,000 ex-SunRocketers &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/8x8-signs-19-000-ex-sunrocketers/2007-08-02&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR /&gt;Packet8 profit not due to consumer VoIP &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/packet8-profit-not-due-consumer-voip/2007-08-06&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/8x8-gets-another-patent/2007-11-01#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/packet8">Packet8</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-technology">VoIP Technology</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:59:54 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2031 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Vonage settles with Sprint</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-settles-sprint/2007-10-08?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;Vonage agreed this morning to pay Sprint Nextel $80 million to settle a patent dispute. A federal court in Kansas city awarded Sprint $69.5 million in damages to cover the revenues Vonage generated with the violated patents. The $80 million settlement is said to cover past and future use of the 100 or so patents at issue. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Vonage, based in Holmdel, N.J., denied violating the Sprint patents and said it would appeal the court&#039;s ruling. The same strategy in a similar lawsuit with Verizon prompted the judge in that case to prohibit Vonage from signing up new subscribers. The company had to post a $66 million bond to be able to continue to do so. Settling with Sprint eliminates the possibility of a similar situation. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Vonage shares made a 40 percent rebound on the news. The company in the meantime awaits the final verdict on the damages award in the Verizon suit. An appeals court judge recently tossed out one of three lower court rulings in that case and vacated the $58 million award to Verizon. Vonage socked away nearly $197 million for the lawsuits, so the damage awards and legal fees are most likely covered. There just isn&#039;t a lot left over for a rainy day. The company has to start making money.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;For More:&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;- &lt;EM&gt;CNNMoney&lt;/em&gt; is carrying wire reports &lt;A title=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200710080958DOWJONESDJONLINE000185_FORTUNE5.htm href=&quot;http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200710080958DOWJONESDJONLINE000185_FORTUNE5.htm&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Related Articles&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Damages vacated on Verizon v. Vonage appeal &lt;A title=http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/breaking-news-vonage-wins-verizon-appeal/2007-09-26 href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/breaking-news-vonage-wins-verizon-appeal/2007-09-26&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Sprint seeks $103 million from Vonage &lt;A title=http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-seeks-103-million-vonage/2007-09-06 href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-seeks-103-million-vonage/2007-09-06&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage sued by SunRocket specter &lt;A title=http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-sued-sunrocket-specter/2007-08-27 href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-sued-sunrocket-specter/2007-08-27&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage staunches the bleeding &lt;A title=http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09 href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-settles-sprint/2007-10-08#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/consumer-voip">Consumer VoIP</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/ooma">ooma</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-technology">VoIP Technology</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1985 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Courts issue Vonage, Sprint and Verizon verdicts</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/courts-issue-vonage-sprint-and-verizon-verdicts/2007-09-27?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
Vonage won a reprieve from one court yesterday after losing in a jury trail the day before. On Tuesday, the Holmdel, N.J. VoIP provider was ordered by a jury to pay Sprint Nextel $69.5 million in damages for patent infringement. On Wednesday, federal judges in Washington, D.C., vacated a decision ordering Vonage to pay $58 million in damages to Verizon for similar violations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Three separate patents were disputed in the Verizon case. A U.S. District Court in Virginia ruled against Vonage and award Verizon $58 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined the Virginia court was right to find infringement on two patents, but it said the third had been improperly explained to the jury. The court thus vacated the damage award and the ruling on the third patent, and instructed the lower court to revisit the first two.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;quot;We vacate in its entirety the award of $58,000,000 in damages and the 5.5 percent royalty and remand to the district court for further proceedings. We affirm the injunction as to the &#039;574 and &#039;711 patents. We vacate the injunction insofar as it pertains to the &#039;880 patent,&amp;quot; the appeals court ruled. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;For more:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/b&gt;- The Verizon appeal decision is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fedcir.gov/opinions/07-1240.pdf&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- &lt;i&gt;The Kansas City Star&lt;/i&gt; has the Sprint Nextel verdict &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/290781.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Related Article:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/b&gt;Sprint seeks $103 million from Vonage &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/sprint-seeks-103-million-vonage/2007-09-06&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/courts-issue-vonage-sprint-and-verizon-verdicts/2007-09-27#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/remand">remand</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1959 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>BREAKING NEWS: Damages vacated on Verizon v. Vonage appeal</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/breaking-news-vonage-wins-verizon-appeal/2007-09-26?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
A federal appeals court has vacated the $58 million in damages awarded to Verizon by a lower court that found Vonage guilty of patent infringement.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
Three specific patents were at issue in the Verizon case. The three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined the lower court was right to find infringement on two, but it said the third had been improperly explained to the jury. The court thus vacated the damage award and the ruling on the third patent, and instructed the lower court to revisit the first two.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
“We vacate in its entirety the award of $58,000,000 in damages and the 5.5 percent royalty and remand to the district court for further proceedings. We affirm the injunction as to the ’574 and ’711 patents. We vacate the injunction insofar as it pertains to the ’880 patent,” the appeals court ruled.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
The initial $58 million award was handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Verizon’s favor last March. A federal jury in Kansas City on Tuesday found Vonage in willful violalation of patenst owned by Sprint Nextel, which was awarded $69.5 million in damages.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; For more: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
- The Verizon appeal decision is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fedcir.gov/opinions/07-1240.pdf&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
- The Kansas City Star has the Sprint Nextel verdict &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/290781.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/breaking-news-vonage-wins-verizon-appeal/2007-09-26#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/appeal">appeal</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/court">court</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/lawsuit">lawsuit</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patent">patent</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/remand">remand</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:38:04 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1952 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Vonage faces Sprint suit</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-faces-sprint-suit/2007-08-13?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;Vonage is looking at another court confrontation over patent infringement. Reports out of Kansas City indicate that the U.S. District Court there rejected Vonage&#039;s request to dismiss a lawsuit bought by Sprint Nextel in 2005. Sprint said Vonage infringed on seven of its VoIP-processing patents and sought unspecified damages. The suit is expected to go to trial next month, when another federal court is scheduled to render its final decision on a similar suit brought by Verizon.&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;The U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., ruled against Vonage last March, ordering the Holmdel, NJ VoIP provider to pay Verizon $58 million in damages and to stop signing up customers. Vonage won a reprieve on the sign-up injunction while the decision was appealed. Subscriber growth was nonetheless affected. During Vonage&#039;s legal struggle, Comcast overtook it as the largest consumer VoIP provider in the United States.&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage executives last week said company engineers had developed workarounds on the Verizon patents that went into use July 1. They also said legal fees for patent litigation had reached $16 million this year, and was expected to decrease &quot;over time,&quot; which now does not appear to include September.&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;For more:&lt;BR /&gt;- Roy Mark provides more information on the disputed patents at &lt;I&gt;internetnews&lt;/i&gt; &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3693556&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;- Jason Gertzen of &lt;I&gt;The Kansas City Star&lt;/i&gt; covers the recent court decision &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/227362.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Articles:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Vonage staunches the bleeding. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-faces-sprint-suit/2007-08-13#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/comcast">Comcast</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/sprint-nextel">Sprint Nextel</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1835 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Vonage staunches the bleeding</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>Vonage cut its losses by more than half in the second quarter of 2007 compared to a year ago. Net loss for the Holmdel, N.J. VoIP provider was $34 million during 2Q compared to $74 million a year ago. Revenues hit a record $206 million, up 43 percent from a year ago.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
“I am confident we are taking the appropriate steps to turn our business around,” said Jeffrey Citron, chairman and interim CEO. “I think we’re turning corner on one of the most difficult periods in Vonage’s history.”&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That period involved Vonage losing a patent suit to Verizon in mid-March and briefly being enjoined from signing up new subscribers. The litigation has cost Vonage $16 million so far this year, “which we expect to go down over time,” Citron said during the company’s earnings conference call.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Excluding expenses related to patent litigation, Vonage’s net loss was $18 million, down from $61 million the previous quarter, and the lowest in five years. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;BLAMING THE PRESS&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Citron said that Vonage implemented workarounds on the disputed patents, but whether or not those are adequate remains to be determined. Vonage may also have to pony up more royalties for Verizon, pending a court decision due by the end of September. “We look forward to the court’s ultimate decision,” Citron said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Vonage Chief Financial Office John Rigo said the litigation and the “negative” press it generated slowed down subscriber growth and caused some defections.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Vonage added nearly 237,000 subscribers during the quarter, but also lost 76 percent amount for a net addition of nearly 57,000 customers. In the same period a year ago, Vonage added 377,000 subscribers and lost 32 percent of that for a net gain of 256,000. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The company finished 2Q’07 with more than 2.4 million subscribers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Citron noted that much of the churn--7 percent gross for the most recent quarter and 2.5 percent net on a monthly basis--was mostly driven by “push factors” such as quality of service rather than competition or pricing. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
“Those factors are in Vonage’s control,” he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;SHIFTING GEARS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A shift in the marketing strategy also slowed subscriber growth, Citron said, but it’s expected to save the company $10 million a year. Vonage is switching from an advertising/revenue model to a cost-per-acquistion strategy, which is what most VoIP providers use. Vonage spent $287 per subscriber on marketing in 2Q, up $14 from the previous quarter and $48 from a year ago. The price of Vonage’s residential unlimited calling plan is just shy of $300 before taxes and fees. Citron said he expected marketing costs to fall next quarter. Vonage’s earning release also incuded the following statement:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
“The company believes additional opportunity exists to reduce marketing acquisition costs by exiting certain contracts in the second half of 2007 that could not be canceled in the second quarter.” &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Vonage executives did not elaborate on those contracts during the earnings call.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Average monthly 2Q revenue per line was $28.38, up 7 cents from 1Q and 49 cents a year ago. The service cost per sub line was $7.21, down from $8.03 in 1Q as a result of a $2 million refund in Universal Service Fund fees.&lt;br /&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:10:05 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1819 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>FEATURE:  Vonage staunches the bleeding</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/feature-vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;Vonage staunches the bleeding&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Vonage cut its losses by more than half in the second quarter of 2007 compared to a year ago.&amp;#8230;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&quot;I am&lt;B&gt; &lt;/b&gt;confident we are taking the appropriate steps to turn our business around,&quot; said Jeffrey Citron, chairman and interim CEO. &quot;I think we&#039;re turning a corner on one of the most difficult periods in Vonage&#039;s history.&quot;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;That period involved losing a patent suit to Verizon in mid-March and briefly being enjoined from signing up new subscribers. The litigation has cost Vonage $16 million so far this year, &quot;which we expect to go down over time,&quot; Citron said.&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09&quot;&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Click here to read the rest of this feature...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/feature-vonage-staunches-bleeding/2007-08-09#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:59:48 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1820 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>RTI sues Qwest over VoIP patents</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/rti-sues-qwest-over-voip-patents/2007-07-23?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>
&lt;P&gt;No stranger to the courtroom over VoIP technology patents, Rates Technology Inc. (RTI) is suing Qwest Communications International Inc. for violating, yep, you guessed it, two of its VoIP patents. In particular, RTI claims that Qwest&#039;s OneFlex broadband service uses patents it has held for years. RTI wants the judge to stop Qwest from selling services that use the patents and recall any products, too. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For more on RTI&#039;s pursuit of Qwest for alleged patent infringements:&lt;BR /&gt;- read this &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2007/07/16/daily43.html&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; from the &lt;EM&gt;Denver Business Journal&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Articles:&lt;BR /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Comcast dodges a VoIP patent bullet. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/comcast-dodges-a-voip-patent-bullet/2006-11-14&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Verizon wins Vonage patent suit. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-wins-vonage-patent-suit/2007-03-09&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Signs of life for Vonage--for now. Maybe. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/signs-of-life-for-vonage--for-now.-maybe./2007-03-29&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;BR /&gt;Here come the patent police. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/here-come-the-patent-police/2007-04-05&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/rti-sues-qwest-over-voip-patents/2007-07-23#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/comcast">Comcast</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/company-news-earnings">Company News &amp;amp; Earnings</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-service-provider">VoIP Service Provider</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/voip-technology">VoIP Technology</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:59:56 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1783 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>Are the Verizon patents actually valid?</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/are-the-verizon-patents-actually-valid/2007-04-19?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;P&gt;Thought we might get away without more Vonage news for at least one issue? Me too. Guess again. Here&#039;s an analyst who says that the &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/what-are-the-verizon-voip-patents-anyway/2007-04-12&quot;&gt;Verizon patents that Vonage was convicted of infringing upon&lt;/A&gt; may themselves be invalid. Dan Berniger suggests that the advances that Verizon patented had been widely discussed before Verizon filed. That&#039;s prior art, and would be grounds for rejecting the patents. The trial judge didn&#039;t want to hear testimony about the validity of patents; you&#039;ll remember that the trial was &lt;I&gt;very&lt;/I&gt; fast for a patent trial. Fighting to invalidate the patents would take time and money, two things that Vonage is a little short on.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For more about possible prior art on Verizon&#039;s VoIP patents:&lt;BR&gt;- read this &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070417/005814.shtml&quot;&gt;article&lt;/A&gt; from &lt;I&gt;Techdirt&lt;/I&gt;&lt;BR&gt;- check out the &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&amp;taxonomyName=voip&amp;articleId=9016922&amp;taxonomyId=81&quot;&gt;article&lt;/A&gt; from &lt;I&gt;Computerworld&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Articles:&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;What are the Verizon VoIP patents, anyway? &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/what-are-the-verizon-voip-patents-anyway/2007-04-12&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Which Vonage story should you believe? &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.businessvoipreport.com/story/which-vonage-story-should-you-believe/2007-04-18&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Vonage: the downward spiral continues. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.dailytechrag.com/story/vonage-the-downward-spiral-continues/2007-04-17&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/are-the-verizon-patents-actually-valid/2007-04-19#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_service_provider">VoIP Service Provider</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_technology">VoIP Technology</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1521 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>Vonage &quot;workarounds&quot; no sure thing</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-workarounds-no-sure-thing/2007-04-19?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;P&gt;Getting those patents tossed might be Vonage&#039;s best shot. Remember how Vonage execs were talking right after the verdict about how they&#039;d be able to &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.businessvoipreport.com/story/vonage-deal-for-verizon-bypass/2007-04-04&quot;&gt;work around Verizon&#039;s patents&lt;/A&gt;? It turns out that might not be as simple as Vonage said. In a court filing late last week, Vonage reported that the workarounds--&quot;even if feasible,&quot; the filing said--would take months to implement. And even then, it&#039;s possible that the court&#039;s reading of the patents could be so broad that even the workaround might infringe.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For more information about the Vonage workarounds:&lt;BR&gt;- see this &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.businessvoipreport.com/story/which-vonage-story-should-you-believe/2007-04-18&quot;&gt;piece&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;from the &lt;EM&gt;Business VoIP Report&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;BR&gt;- read this &lt;EM&gt;PC World&lt;/EM&gt; &lt;A href=&quot;http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/004119.html&quot;&gt;article&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;- read this &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=100007JB79ZC&quot;&gt;article&lt;/A&gt; from &lt;I&gt;CIO Today&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Article:&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Vonage deathwatch: CEO resigns, layoffs imminent. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.dailytechrag.com/story/vonage-deathwatch-ceo-resigns-layoffs-imminent/2007-04-12&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-workarounds-no-sure-thing/2007-04-19#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_service_provider">VoIP Service Provider</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_technology">VoIP Technology</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1520 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>Vonage gets reprieve, can sign up new customers</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-gets-reprieve-can-sign-up-new-customers/2007-04-09?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FV0</link>
 <description>&lt;P&gt;Vonage&#039;s Friday was not the kind of day you&#039;d wish even on an enemy. In the morning the trial judge in its patent loss to Verizon ruled that Vonage would not be allowed to sign up new customers. In the afternoon--after the close of business--an appeals judge temporarily stayed the injunction, allowing Vonage to operate as normal, whatever that is these days, until at least another hearing can be held. As of this writing (Sunday night), no date has been set for that hearing. Given the rate of Vonage&#039;s spending to gain those new customers, we wouldn&#039;t blame stockholders if they heaved a sigh of relief that &lt;I&gt;someone&lt;/I&gt; was getting the company to stop. But of course, no one could stop customers from &lt;I&gt;leaving&lt;/I&gt;, and it doesn&#039;t take much imagination to believe that a lot of clients might be having second thoughts about this whole VoIP thing. It&#039;s true enough that it&#039;s the pioneers who get arrows in the back, and at least part of Vonage&#039;s pitch is that VoIP isn&#039;t the frontier anymore. Surprise!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For more about the Vonage dust-up:&lt;BR&gt;- read this &lt;EM&gt;PC World &lt;/EM&gt;&lt;A href=&quot;http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130464/article.html#&quot;&gt;article&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Related Articles:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;Vonage reportedly signs with VoIP Inc. as Plan B. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-reportedly-signs-with-voip-inc.-as-plan-b/2007-04-02&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Signs of life for Vonage--for now. Maybe. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/signs-of-life-for-vonage--for-now.-maybe./2007-03-29&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The perils of Vonage. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/the-perils-of-vonage/2007-03-26&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Bated breath on Vonage patent loss. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/bated-breath-on-vonage-patent-loss/2007-03-13&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Verizon wins Vonage patent suit. &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-wins-vonage-patent-suit/2007-03-09&quot;&gt;Report&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;

</description>
 <comments>http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/vonage-gets-reprieve-can-sign-up-new-customers/2007-04-09#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/patents">Patents</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/verizon">Verizon</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_regulation">VoIP Regulation</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/channels/voip_service_provider">VoIP Service Provider</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercevoip.com/tags/vonage">Vonage</category>
 <pubDate>Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">1487 at http://www.fiercevoip.com</guid>
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