04 May 2007

A U.S. federal appeals court has rejected Vonage Holdings request that it order a lower court to retry a patent-infringement case against the company, Vonage confirmed Thursday.

The VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service provider, embroiled in a dispute with Verizon Communications, had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to vacate an earlier jury verdict after a Supreme Court decision this week that is expected to change the way courts look at patent cases. Vonage was already appealing the verdict.

The appeals court declined to order the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to retry the case, saying instead that Vonage could invoke the Supreme Court decision in its existing appeal, said Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Shulz.