AT&T, Vonage finalize patent lawsuit settlement

IDG News Service - A patent infringement lawsuit filed by AT&T Inc. against voice-over-IP telephony provider Vonage has been settled, Vonage said late Friday.

The settlement brings an unusually speedy end to the lawsuit, which was filed by AT&T on Oct. 17. It alleged Vonage willfully infringed an AT&T patent related to telephone systems that allow people to make VoIP calls using standard telephone devices. A breakdown in talks between the two companies over the issue led to the lawsuit, said AT&T at the time.

Less than a month later, on Nov. 7, the two companies said they had tentatively agreed to a settlement. At that time, Vonage said it would pay AT&T around $39 million under the terms of the settlement.

Final terms were not disclosed on Friday when, in a brief statement, Vonage said the dispute had been settled.

Vonage previously settled a patent suit with Verizon Communications Inc. for $80 million to $120 million, depending on the results of its appeal of a court ruling on two patents, and with Sprint Nextel Corp. for $80 million. As part of the Sprint Nextel deal, Vonage agreed to license more than 100 patents covering technology for connecting calls from a traditional phone network to an IP network. The Verizon settlement came after a court found Vonage had infringed upon the carrier's patents.