Pssst... Vonage, want to buy some IP?
On VoIP Watch, my friend Andy Abramson tells an interesting story today that is both topical and illuminating in a higher altitude sort of way about the vagaries of intellectual property, patents, and litigation. According to Andy's story, it appears that US Robotics (nee 3Com) holds a patent that is extremely similar to the one Verizon is using to try to force Vonage to shut down ongoing sales operations. In theory, if I read the story correctly, Vonage could conceivably license the IP from 3Com to defend itself from Verizon. That's interesting in and of itself as this courtroom drama unfolds.