@Step666: Thanks for the link. "Resolved" is a better word in this case as the denial of rehearing appears to bring a final judgment to near-certainty. The Engadget article is far more nuanced and accurate in its terminology.

If anything, it's "settled" in the sense that many cases "settle" after trial to stave off future litigation costs in the form of post-trial motions.

omg-ponies

Was the case actually settled (in the legal sense) though?
Engadget describes it as Vonage having lost their appeal (link).

Perhaps this was just an unfortunate use of the word 'settled', meaning 'over' rather than an out-of-court accord between the two parties?

Step666

The telcos are like the oil companies, working to shut down competition. We all know the future of voice communication is over the Internet. They're just stalling the inevitable.

digitalpoet

If the case was settled, then no one was ordered to pay anyone anything. Vonage appears to have agreed to pay which begs the question:

Can Vonage afford to pay?

omg-ponies

@Monty: Settling a case doesn't mean that someone won the lawsuit, it just means that one side felt that the future of the case didn't look good and decided to pay out to the other side before getting too deep into the case and possibly costing themselves more money in the process.

kjake

that's bullshit.... macrocorp lawers really piss me off.

bobbiac

I use Vonage and really hope the stay in business - love their service! I installed one in my mom's place in South America and we talk as if she was in my same town...

dambo29

I wonder if someone like att or verizon would BUY then, since the name vonage is associated with reliable cheap service that WORKS as an alterative to traditional crapphone.

stackybotrus

I hope they can survive - Vonage provide an awesome service at a great price

The 'old skool' telcos are just lining up to try and take Vonage down, as they challenge the old models of charging for time and call distance.

VoIP is the way of the future - it's just that the big boys like Verizon want it all to themselves - and at their price, not Vonage's.

MINI Driver

That's a bummer for Vonage to be sure.
I know a bunch of people that used their service and liked it quite a bit.

Comcast's digital voice however is not as popular due to it sucking so bad.
I get at least one customer a day in my store complaining about the service.

strider_mt2k

I assume since Verizon won the lawsuit that their case against Vonage was solid? Then again, there have been a number of technology cases where someone won based on a patent that should never have been approved to begin with. I wonder if this is one of those cases?

Monty

I wonder if it'd be a good time for Verizon to make an offer on Vonage.

scrag

@stackybotrus:
Gawd I hope not. I would really hope for a company like Google to wait until they hit rock bottom, buy them out of their debt and lawsuits, integrate them into Grand Central, then slap Android on it (all hosted on s substantial chunk of 700Mhz air of course).

SomeAudioGuy

How Many company's must Vonage have to pay by know..
it seams like every other month this company is getting sued..

DJJS

@MINI Driver: Hear, hear. I'm an early Vonage adopter and I really hope they survive this, or that the company that buys/saves them doesn't raise prices.

knave77

This sucks. I've had Vonage for years, and if they go under I'll buy a frickin telegraph machine before I give another dime to Qwest.

superbad

You should check out techdirt.com. They've been ripping into the Vonage case, and patent lawsuits in general.

Aaron Martin-Colby

@strider_mt2k: I'm confused. why would people come to McDonalds to complain about their phone service?

BURN!!!! (sorry, you left the door wide open for that one, i just couldn't resist.)

DSaddict

This sux. I use Vonage and although I've always been upset about how they handle the softphone issue it's still the best price ($15/month for my package) for what I get. Now I might have to start looking for another VOIP provider?

ninjamurf