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Vonage May Have Way Around Patent Disputes 87
nevillethedevil writes "Bloomberg is reporting that Vonage may have found a way around the current patent issues they have been facing with Verizon and others. They are applying technological solutions to a legal problem, changing the way that Vonage's communications software operates at a basic level to ensure that they no longer infringe on patent claims. 'Vonage's new technology can be installed through software downloads and shouldn't be costly to deploy, Citron said. The company will continue to appeal the court decision that requires it to pay Verizon damages for infringing patents on technology that translates Internet-based calls to standard lines.'"
Way around... (Score:1)
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Well there's always two cans and a string. Unless some kid has a patent on that too.
They could sell pet food online! (Score:2)
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1. They operate like Big-Business (2.5 million customers, and losing money like a drunken sailor)
2. Vonage is destoying Big-Telco's cash cow.
I think the technology is great, but Vonage will be taken down by people who have too much to lose if IP telephony becomes more prevalent and prices keep falling.
Thankfully, this tided will not be stopped. They are at least half a dozen vonages on the internet, and hundreds of vonages to come... until Telephone becomes just like today'
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I sure hope not.
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http://finance.google.com/finance?q=vonage&hl=en [google.com]
Re:Totally Off-topic (Score:4, Informative)
Blame Flash on Linux. (Score:1, Offtopic)
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wait that's a smudge on the screen.
Re:Totally Off-topic (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually slashdot uses some dynamic ads that simply trust the ad provider won't do shit like that. The admins here will fix it soon I bet.
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Thanks to them, I barely remember what you are complaining about....give them a try!
Hired SCO Developers (Score:2)
if (switch = "5eSS") {
phone_home("Bell Atlantic Law Dept", hostname);
}
Two Useful Links (Score:5, Informative)
I worked in a company that did software in the banking/finance world and the lawyer literally spent all her time working with engineering to figure ways around patents or otherwise write code that stuck to as many standards as legally possible.
Apparently this presented great complexity from a coding perspective.
Two informative links for those that want a bit of substantive background on the topic.
http://ipurbia.com/2007/03/verizon-patent-analysi
http://herot.typepad.com/cherot/2007/04/verizon_s
That this kind of litigation has to happen at all is another indicator of how bad the business climate is in the U.S.
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The reason is that Level3 once upon a time bought one of the first softswitch developers. AFAIK it ever tried to use it in production, but it can still use it as a great defensive legal weapon.
If Verizon tries to sue Level3 it will be presented with code which does what is
Missing The Point (Score:3, Interesting)
I wish Verizon would sue Level3, but they won't. They'll sue every ISP/VOIP provider that doesn't pay the Verizon Patent Tax. That costs them a couple of lawyers salaries for a huge return.
bullshit (Score:2)
So what? If it's not been disclosed, it doesn't matter.
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What other patents are they violating? (Score:1)
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A final point, Vonage better beware of the doctrine of equivalents [wikipedia.org]. The doctrine of equivalents holds a party liable for patent infringement even if the infringing device/process does not fall within the literal scope of the patent's claims, but accomplishes the equivalent to th
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I thought so...
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Short-term solution (Score:5, Insightful)
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How do people read this in a manner that would be critical of the patent system?
It was working just fine before, and there was no good reason to put all those customers in jeopardy of losing their phone service (or having to pay more to license something as obvious as sending audio over a network). And it's just as likely that the workaround isn't a "new solution", but a cheap hack to accomplish the same thing in a way that's just barely different enough to avoid the patent - perhaps even a less efficient way that no one would consider using if not for that patent.
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patent workarounds... (Score:5, Interesting)
If that doesn't show that software patents are bogus, I don't know what will.
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* it requires others to think about the problem more
* it often produces newer, better, more efficient solutions
* it opens up opportunities in fields where it would have been cost prohibitive to even explore (but for the "rent" imposed by a patent)
The same
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Also, I think that the point is not that you implement "work arounds" but rather that you "invent around" a patent. However, as with everything, it's an economic decision. In the case where there is NOT a viable work around, enter license agreements or see the third point.
As to my third
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I the last company I worked at make parts for people. We had one large customer stupid enough to fire all their chief engineers and just milk the product. Those engineers cashed in there options and ope
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I think his point was that he'd have preferred that the OP phrase it differently. Perhaps "Gives incentive to..." rather than the tortured "incentivizes."
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Sadly in the software world that equals more bloat and slower code. To illustrate this point I have produced the following flawless step-by-step plan:
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Finally, as with any other sort of tre
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Hmmm it occurs to me that there may be more than one way
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Offtopic Trivial Info Message: (Score:5, Funny)
Try a window screen. As long as the screen itself is not resting on a solid surface (ie: up on small blocks) this works most of the time. The theory is that the cat will cling to the screen and allow you to bathe, examine, draw blood, admin meds, etc. Works amazingly well!
why yes IAAVT (I Am A Veterinary Technician)!
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BTW, it's true, though I wasn't trying for funny. Even funnier is actually seeing it in action!
Two minor things I forgot: 1. don't work well with declawed cats, 2. have to set the screen on solid surface before they will let go.
Hey thanks! (Score:1)
Re: vonage (Score:1)
Anyone ever been thru the account cancellation maze with them?
Actually, just yesterday. It took 2 phones calls over 2 evenings to convince them that if I tranferred my number 3 weeks ago I really did have no service anymore for them to bill me for. I didn't have any problems with Vonage before that, but after the experience of convincing them to stop billing me for service I didn't have anymore, I'd never use them again.
BrentGo Vonage! (Score:4, Insightful)
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The key portion here is the reason for which Congress is allowed to secure the rights to authors and inventors. The purpose is to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. I think the problem that many who post on here have with patent and copyright laws in
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Re:Heads up, Vonage is a scam (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:Vonage is a leech - NOT! (Score:2)
If Verizon DSL is a money loser, WTF are they doing supplying it?? It doesn't make sense. Companies are there to make money. They make money with DSL subscriptions. Yes, including Verizon. Verizon just wants the cake and eat it too!
Anyway, the future is digital phone service with analog maybe as a backup for things like 911. Digital is more efficient and better qua
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If a DSL, Cable Modem, or FIOS service does not pay for itself purely based on the data service, then the provider is not charging enough for the data portion. If you take the cost of a DSL line and say it is X then there should be a cost Y and Z which amount to the data and the voice portion. If you want to expand it one step further you could add in the cost of the copper a
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Anyway, your premise about the maintenance of the copper is utter BS. Vonage requires that one has an internet connection. That is where the telco or cable company or whoever is paid.
I pay my ISP (again, not the telco) for DSL service. They pay a wholesale rate for leasing the DSLAM port, etc, to the telco. The telco is still making money, but without having to provide support and infrastructure. So it's better than
Re: I have both (Score:2, Insightful)
Anyone that gets a traditional phone in this city will have fiber optic cable routed to the house, there is no copper anymore, and the phone line terminates into a box in one's garage where the fiber from the alley terminates.
Regardless of w