Verizon sues Vonage over phone patents

It's been rough-going for Vonage. Their stock has dropped 48% since their IPO, and now they're being sued by Verizon over IP Telephony patents. The news sent skittish investor heading for the doors. Vonage is considered to be the technology leader in VOIP.

`Vonage does not currently own any issued U.S. patents,'' Verizon said in the lawsuit. ``Instead, Vonage relies on the intellectual property developed by Verizon in delivering its infringing product and services.''

The suit doesn't stop there. It also accuses Vonage of

• Patent infringement on customer service technology
• Patent infringement on billing software
• Infringement of patents on fraud detection

Vonage promised to defend the suit.