Cisco's suit raises more IP concerns in China

Cisco's suit raises more IP concerns in China
By Semiconductor Business News
January 23, 2003 (1:58 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030123S0020

SAN JOSE--Raising more fears about the possible abuse of intellectual property (IP) rights in China, Cisco Systems Inc. here filed a suit against Chinese networking giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries over alleged copyright violations.

The suit underscores a growing concern among U.S. hi-tech companies over IP issues in China. Last month, for example, a U.S. federal court indicted two former employees from Transmeta Corp. for allegedly stealing trade secrets in the microprocessor field (see Dec. 5, 2002 story ).

Cisco's suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Huawei unlawfully copied and misappropriated Cisco's IOS software, including source code, documentation and other copyrighted materials.

The San Jose-based company also claims Huawei infringed on numerous Cisco patents. Cisco seeks remedies to prohibit the continued misappropriation of its IP by Huawei and recover damages resulting from Huawei's illegal actions.

Cisco also served a cease and desist letter on Spot Distribution, a Huawei distributor located in the United Kingdom, for distributing Huawei products that copy Cisco's intellectual property.

"Huawei has unlawfully copied Cisco's intellectual property and refused Cisco's numerous attempts to resolve these issues. As a result, Cisco has no choice but to protect its technology and the interests of its shareholders through legal action," said Mark Chandler, vice president and general counsel of Cisco, in a statement.