Vonage, Nortel settle patent dispute for no cash

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December 31, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Vonage Holdings Corp. and Nortel Networks Corp. have preliminarily agreed to cross-license several patents, ending a dispute between the companies without any monetary payments, Vonage said Monday.

All claims relating to past damages as well as remaining payments will be dismissed, the company said. Documents sealing the agreement have not yet been finalized.

The agreement is a minor victory for Vonage. The company has settled or reached tentative agreements in three other patent disputes related to voice-over-IP (VoIP) and other telecommunications technologies for what could ultimately reach $239 million in payments.

Vonage agreed to settle a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by rival AT&T Inc. for $39 million. Prior to that deal, Vonage had reached settlements with Sprint Nextel Corp. for $80 million and with Verizon Communications Inc. for $80 million to $120 million, depending on the results of an appeal.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2008 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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