July 11, 2006
Vonage + More VoIP Lawsuits - When Will The Brutality End
BusinessWeek, and many others, reported yesterday that Vonage is now being sued by Klausner Technologies for patent infringement that has to do with Internet voicemail - to the tune of $180 million dollars. Give me a break. All this bullying of Vonage and kicking them when they're down suggests to me that many people smell the profit in VoIP and are siccing their lawyers on the fall guy.
In some cases, these patent infringement suits feel as if one caveman claimed the color red for his exclusive use just because he claimed it first, and not because he actually created it. Part of the fault lies with the USPTO. They and their equivalents around the world need to get their act together. Please hire hire patent officers who actually know technology, or this kind of absurd lawsuit nonsense is going to kill innovation in all industries that use patents. (Can you imagine if someone had patented fire? Has anyone? Hmm.)
But Vonage has arisen bloodied from their multiple beatings and are fighting with intelligence. Instead of handing over all their milk money to the VoIP school bullies, they've paid Digital Packet Licensing Inc. for three patents. This move, according Tom Keating, is a response to recent lawsuits initiated by Sprint and Verizon upon Vonage.
Me thinks, though, that this isn't the end of the patent infringment parade. Vonage needs somebody, a big buddy. Now I know that Microsoft is suddenly interested in VoIP and that they are working with Philips on a VoWiFi phone. But couldn't they maybe just, oh, I don't know... scoop up Vonage? I'd never have suggested this ten years ago, but it might be just what Vonage needs. And it might actually boost Microsoft's cred in new technologies - something they need given their flat stock (NYSE: MSFT) performance for the past five years.
Then again, Apple is interested in VoIP, and maybe a VoIPod wouldn't be such a bad thing, although Koncept USA may want to change the name of their VoIPod. Although Apple's (NYSE: AAPL) shares are doing fine over the past five years.
Other companies should take note though, if they have applications that generate Internet voicemail. You might just be getting VoIPed soon from Klausner Technologies' lawyers.
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