Thursday, February 17, 2011

VoIP Inc. sues Google: alleges theft of trade secrets for click-to-call ads

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Google's no stranger to the courtroom, and while their litigation with Oracle and Viacom  has gotten all the publicity of late, VoIP Inc. -- perhaps in a move to  help pay off its bankruptcy creditors -- has joined in the litigious  fun by suing the search giant for stealing trade secrets. VoIP alleges  Google entered a license agreement with one of its subsidiaries in 2005  for technology that allows users to click online ads to call the  advertiser directly over the internet -- because, you know, the unwashed  masses are just dying to chat with the makers of PajamaJeans.  Google later said that VoIP violated its nondisclosure agreement by  talking about the deal and killed the relationship, but VoIP claims the  boys and girls in Mountain View used its tech to create click-to-call  ads in a 2006 deal with eBay and Skype. The litigation is just getting  started, so we've yet to see the complaint or Google's response, but we  feel certain VoIP has asked for a princely sum as punishment for these  transgressions. Time will tell if Google decides to cut a check, so stay  tuned.

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