Vonage, Nortel Settle Patent Disputes
Internet phone company Vonage Holdings and Canadian telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks have settled their patent disputes, the companies said.
The settlement involves a "limited cross license" to three Nortel and three Vonage patents, and will not call for any monetary payments by either company, they added.
Shares of Vonage rose 12 percent Monday. Nortel shares edged lower.
The latest settlement closes a difficult year for Vonage, whose stock has lost 71 percent in the past 12 months amid a string of legal problems.
Last week, Vonage agreed to pay AT&T $650,000 a month for a total of $1.95 million as a prepayment in an another patent settlement. The companies said last month the settlement will total $39 million, to be paid over five years.
Vonage has also been the target of patent lawsuits from Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel It settled the Verizon case for a maximum of $120 million and the Sprint case for $80 million earlier this year.
