Arista Networks to pay USD 400 mln to settle Cisco suits

News Broadband Global 7 AUG 2018
Arista Networks to pay USD 400 mln to settle Cisco suits

Cisco and Arista Networks have agreed to settle their legal dispute over IP protection. Arista will pay USD 400 million to Cisco to settle the existing disputes, and the companies agreed that, with limited exceptions, no new litigation will be brought over patents or copyrights related to existing products, for five years. In addition, for three years, they will use an arbitration process to address any patent issues regarding new products. 

In addition, Arista committed to maintaining the product modifications it made as a result of previous rulings, and will be making limited changes to further differentiate its user interfaces from Cisco’s. Arista and Cisco will continue to seek appellate court review of the verdict in an earlier trial regarding legal protection for user interfaces.

The agreement brings to an end several years of lawsuits. Cisco first sued Arista in 2014 alleging infringement of 14 patents and copyright breach for copying Cisco user manuals. The company has claimed that former Cisco employees working at Arista copied the materials. After losing rulings at the International Trade Commission and facing a sales ban on some products, Arista was forced to modify some of its products and enter negotiations on a settlement. 

Categories:

Fixed

Companies:

Arista Networks,  Cisco

Regions:

Global

Tags:

Network equipment, Wholesale, Legislation - Lawsuits, Research and development

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