Are Verizon's VoIP Patents Too Broad?

16 April 2007

Vonage is trying to have it both ways with its talk of "workarounds."

The term refers to VoIP technology Vonage would use instead of the stuff a district court found it guilty of "borrowing" from Verizon.

Vonage has been talking to the media about said workarounds for weeks now. The promise of workarounds was/is Vonage's main assurance to customers and investors that its service will not be shut down, even if all its legal options run out.

But in a court filing Friday, Vonage's lawyers say workarounds might not even be possible: "While Vonage has studied methods for designing around the patent, removal of the allegedly infringing technology, if even feasible, could take many months to full[y] study and implement."