While an injunctive order has been reportedly issued, it remains unsigned, and not effective immediately. The court is giving the parties two weeks to prepare and file briefs, prior to a hearing and final opinion. Part of the panic on Vonage stock is misleading and erroneous reporting by the mainstream press, including the Associated Press, that the injunction was in force.

Vonage, after a horrid IPO, has seen its share price going to hell in a bucket, having dropped 80%. Trading in shares was briefly halted today while Vonage issued a statement which pleaded that the injunction be stayed pending appeal. The judge will consider a stay. If a stay is not granted, Vonage will seek a stay of the injunction as part of the appeal process.

Vonage is appealing, among other things, the claim construction upon which infringement was found. Vonage thinks that non-infringement remains its strongest defensive position. Sharon O'Leary, Vonage's executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary: "Our appeal centers on erroneous patent claim construction, and we remain confident that Vonage has not infringed on any of Verizon's patents. Vonage relied on open-standard, off-the-shelf technology when developing its service. In fact, evidence introduced in court failed to prove that Vonage relied on Verizon's VoIP technology, and instead showed that in 2003 Verizon began exploring ways to copy Vonage's technology."

Verizon had tidy logic for its injunction. Verizon lawyer Dan Webb characterized Vonage as "a company that is in deteriorating condition in the marketplace," thus, could run up damages that it would be unable to pay.

Vonage reassured its 2.2 million customers that service will be unaffected by the litigation, claiming to deploy different technologies to work around the asserted patents.

Verizon, in statements admitting its own core incompetency, has claimed to have lost hundreds of thousands of customers to Vonage. If Verizon were worth a shit, it would have better employed its own patented technology, and better-known brand name, to have smothered Vonage at birth. Verizon is also losing its shirt to cable companies Time Warner and Comcast, who offer VOIP with better service than Verizon has been able to muster. Expect Verizon to sally forth again with its patents against other competitors while it continues to bleed customers.

Previous Patent Prospector coverage on Vonage's patent woes: March 18, 2007; March 8, 2007; July 10, 2006; June 17, 2006.