Vonage Wins Permanent Stay of Injunction

Vonage is safe, for now. Following 90 minutes of testimony before an appeals court, the VoIP provider has won a permanent stay of an injunction against it that would have prevented the company from signing up new customers.

Word of the ruling came about two hours after lawyers for Vonage and Verizon presented their case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. Both sides were questioned by the judge for approximately 40 minutes each.

The decision reverses an April 6 ruling that initially prevented Vonage from signing up new customers, and extends a temporary stay issued by the Court of Appeals later that day.

The news is pleasing investors - in late afternoon trading Vonage's stock was up nearly 34 percent after being up as much as 50 percent earlier in the day. Even after the sharp increase, however, Vonage stock is down some 78 percent from its 52-week highs.

Verizon had no immediate comment on the news; however, in a statement Vonage said it was obviously pleased by the court's decision.

"It's business as usual for us," Vonage chairman and interim CEO Jeffrey Citron said in a statement. "We continue to believe we have not infringed on any of Verizon's technology and remain optimistic that we will ultimately prevail in this litigation."