Nortel sues Vonage for patent infringement

Telecommunications manufacturer Nortel has just filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Vonage.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, accuses Vonage of infringing on 12 Nortel patents related to telephone data management solutions.

Vonage is on record as having contested three of these patents. In August, Vonage sued Nortel on the basis three of these patents were involved.

Bloomberg News noted that Nortel denied the allegations in papers filed today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. It claimed in the filing that Vonage is violating the three patents and nine others. "Defending our intellectual property rights is a top priority for Nortel,'' said Nortel spokesman Mohammed Nakhooda. ``That's why we are seeking damages and to put an injunction on the use of our technology with respect to Vonage.''

An injunction would prevent Vonage from using technology that relates to 911 and 411 calls, as well as its ``click to call'' feature, Nakhooda said.

"The litigation is ongoing and both parties have filed and will continue to file papers,'' said Vonage spokesman Charles Sahner. Nortel's filing "is a countersuit in defense.''

The Delaware case is Vonage Holdings Corp. v. Nortel Networks Inc., 07CV507, U.S. District Court, Delaware (Wilmington).