US telecoms giant Verizon is suing Vonage over alleged patent infringements, the broadband telephony service confirmed today.

Vonage Holdings Corp and its subsidiary Vonage America were served with the lawsuit, which relates to seven patents, by Verizon Services Corp and Verizon Laboratories.

In a statement, Vonage said it "respects the valid intellectual property rights of others" and believes that its services "have been developed with its own proprietary technology and technology licensed from third parties".

The VoIP outfit "intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit", it said, adding that this is the first time Verizon has contacted the operator regarding the patent allegations.

Vonage operates in the US, Canada and the UK and has around 1.6m users. Last month Vonage floated in the US but the IPO has failed to excite investors. Vonage's stock price is currently under $10, down from $17 at the IPO. ®

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