SIPphone filed a false advertising suit against Vonage saying that it is both “anti-competitive and harmful to consumers to sell otherwise SIP-standard hardware that has been intentionally locked to their service without clearly communicating to consumers prior to purchase.” SIPphone alleges Vonage has paid the manufacturer of phone adapters used for its service to implement software that cripples the Internet phone adapter from working with other SIP services. SIPphone complains that this practice of “locking hardware” is an exception in the industry and that consumers are hurt by this practice.
SIPphone is asking the courts to require Vonage and its retail partners to disclose on all product advertisements, catalog listings, in store promotional material and displays, and product packaging that the phone adapter they are purchasing can not be used with a competing service, out of the box and at no time in the future. http://sipphone.com/legal/
