By Tom Hals
WILMINGTON, Del., June 22 (Reuters) - Frontier Communications Corp is suing to stop Google Inc from offering a service that gives users one phone number connecting their home, work and cell phones because it infringes a patent, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
Frontier, which provides phone, Internet access and satellite TV, also asked a federal court to award it damages for the infringement by the Google Voice service.
'Google's deliberate infringement of the (Frontier patent) has greatly and irreparably damaged Frontier,' said the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Users of Google Voice can request a new phone number from the Internet company. That number is assigned to the user, not any particular device. When someone calls it, the user can decide where that calls rings, such as on a cell phone or home phone.
Frontier, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, says that infringes its patent. Its patent application described its invention as one that allows a subscriber to 'be reached on multiple telephone lines from a single dial-in number.'
Frontier and Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, did not immediately return calls for comment.
The case is Frontier Communications Corp v Google Inc, U.S District Court, District of Delaware.
(Editing by Derek Caney) Keywords: djcGOOGLE/FRONTIER PATENT (thomas.hals@thomsonreuters.com; 1-610-544-2712; Reuters Messaging thomas.hals.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
WILMINGTON, Del., June 22 (Reuters) - Frontier Communications Corp is suing to stop Google Inc from offering a service that gives users one phone number connecting their home, work and cell phones because it infringes a patent, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
Frontier, which provides phone, Internet access and satellite TV, also asked a federal court to award it damages for the infringement by the Google Voice service.
'Google's deliberate infringement of the (Frontier patent) has greatly and irreparably damaged Frontier,' said the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Users of Google Voice can request a new phone number from the Internet company. That number is assigned to the user, not any particular device. When someone calls it, the user can decide where that calls rings, such as on a cell phone or home phone.
Frontier, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, says that infringes its patent. Its patent application described its invention as one that allows a subscriber to 'be reached on multiple telephone lines from a single dial-in number.'
Frontier and Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, did not immediately return calls for comment.
The case is Frontier Communications Corp v Google Inc, U.S District Court, District of Delaware.
(Editing by Derek Caney) Keywords: djcGOOGLE/FRONTIER PATENT (thomas.hals@thomsonreuters.com; 1-610-544-2712; Reuters Messaging thomas.hals.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.