Google accused stealing trade secrets

Innovation communications company VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Inc sued Google Inc. in New York Supreme Court on Monday, accusing the Internet giant of stealing its trade secrets related to online voice research.

2006 joint venture with eBay

Google entered a 2006 joint venture with eBay and Skype related to Internet call services. VoiceOne argues that Google's justification for terminating the 2005 agreement was "a pretext" to allow the company to exploit VoiceOne's confidential information, including source codes, algorithms and "know how" for monetizing Internet phone calls, in its deal with eBay and Skype.

Google spokesman Aaron Zamost was not right away available for comment. Plaintiffs' attorneys Christopher Seeger and Jonathan Shub did not there and then return calls seeking comment.

On July 29, 2009, VoIP filed a similar lawsuit against Google in Los Angeles Superior Court. That case was dismissed without prejudice in December 2009 due to jurisdictional issues and VoIP's pending bankruptcy proceedings, according to plaintiffs' lawyer Brian Kabatek. Creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against VoIP in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida in 2009.

Last June, Frontier Communications sued Google over its Google Voice product, which gives users one phone number to connect their home, work and cell phones. Frontier, a provider of phone, Internet and satellite TV services, alleged that Google Voice infringed on its patented invention that linked multiple phone lines to a single number. That litigation is underway in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

For VoIP and the other plaintiffs: Byron Ball of The Ball Law Firm, Mark Geragos of Geragos & Geragos and Brian Kabateck of Kabateck Brown Kellner.