The technology used by Vonage Holdings to deliver voicemail service to its 1.6 million VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) telephony customers infringes another company"s patent, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Klausner Technologies has asked a federal court in the eastern district of Texas to fine Vonage $180 million in damages and royalties for the patent infringement.
Klausner, a privately owned company that controls 25 patents for VOIP voicemail technology, already collects licensing fees from Time Warner Inc. for using this technology in its AOL Voicemail and VOIP voicemail services. The company asked Vonage, of Holmdel, New Jersey, to sign a similar agreement in January, but the only response has been a request for more time, Klausner claims.