18 May 2007

Verizon Communications (VZ) prevailed in its patent infringement lawsuit
against Vonage (VG), with the court ruling that Vonage had infringed on patents
owned by Verizon. Most of the media and investor focus on been on the impact of
this lawsuit, if upheld, on Vonage's future. The much more important impact, in
our view, is whether these patents are also being infringed upon by other VOIP
vendors, including the cable companies. If so, the Verizon patents would have
the effect of rendering VOIP irrelevant. Here's more.