Rebounding from a patent suit loss in a Virginia court, a Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based telecommunications giant today capitalized on the economic crisis by calling for businesses to harness “the power of IP” to become more productive.

 

Officials at Verizon Business (News - Alert) touted their IP services as helping businesses and government agencies converge voice and data into a streamlined network environment.

 

According to Nancy Gofus, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of Verizon Business, the company’s products comprise “the backbone” of a business.

 

“As a pioneer in introducing commercial Internet services 20 years ago, we continue to innovate to bring the power of the Internet and the IP services it spawned to create new competitive advantages for our large business and government customers worldwide,” Gofus said.

 

The statement comes as Verizon rebounds from a reported loss on a VoIP patent case that the company brought against Cox (News - Alert) Communications.

 

Industry insiders say Verizon won a similar case a year ago when Vonage (News - Alert) was forced to pay it $117 million. Verizon likely would appeal the latest decision.

 

According to TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani, though it’s beneficial for big companies such as Verizon and Cox themselves to win these suits, it often hurts customers by stifling innovation.

 

“The U.S. patent system continues to be a barrier to true innovation and consumers are being hurt – severely so in some cases – by large companies who use the patent system to prevent other companies from succeeding,” Tehrani writes. “Instead of competing with better technology alone, these large companies use large amounts of patents at once to scare new entrants into submission. Hopefully, in the IP communications space, Cox Communications will mark a point in time when large companies slow down their IP communications patent infringement onslaught.”

 

In its announcement today, Verizon officials list eight tips for businesses seeking to survive, and even thrive, in the current economic climate. Those tips are: Make Telework Seamless; Create a Culture of Collaboration; Become an E-Tailer, Even if You’re Not a Traditional Retailer; Consider Home-Based Customer Service; Turn Social Networking into Professional Networking 2.0; Don’t Let Distance Be a Barrier to Training; Secure Your Data; and Back It Up To Stay Two Steps Ahead.