Sprint seeks $103 million from Vonage

Sprint wants $103 million in damages from Vonage for patent violations, according to reports emerging from the Kansas City federal court where a jury trial got under way Tuesday. Sprint's attorney told the jury that it was entitled to a 7 percent royalty, which came to around $103 million based on Vonage revenues of $1.3 billion. Vonage is contesting Sprint's patent claims in the 10th U.S. District Court in the Midwestern city.

Vonage lost a similar battle in March, when a federal court in Virginia ordered the Holmdel, N.J. standalone VoIP provider to fork over $58 million to Verizon. The decision is pending appeal. Vonage chief Jeff Citron will address investors Monday, Sept. 10 via webcast of a presentation at the Jefferies 5th Annual Communications Conference at the Mandarin Hotel in New York starting at 1:50 PM.

The question now is how long Vonage remains a standalone. The litigation has slowed down subscriber uptake and cost the company more than $16 million this year. VoIP industry veteran Rich Tehrani tells FierceVoIP that rumors of buyouts have circulated, with the emphasis on "rumors." One theory is that Vonage would give Comcast a larger VoIP footprint. Another is that it may be an attractive acquisition for an international like Deutshe Telekom. Whatever the outcome, Vonage still has some rough water to navigate.

For More:
- The ZDNet report is here 
- The Jefferies conference announcement is here

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