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Cisco wins proprietary technology lawsuit in US

In a legal victory for Cisco Systems Inc, a US federal judge ordered China's largest telecommunications equipment maker to stop distributing products that include Cisco's proprietary technology.

The preliminary injunction Friday by US District Judge T. John Ward in Marshall, Texas, bars Huawei Technologies Co from selling, importing, exporting or using software that is derived or developed from a part of Cisco's operating system.

In addition, Ward barred Huawei from employing anyone who has worked with the code in question as it develops its own software. Huawei also was ordered to stop distributing user manuals or help files that contain portions copied from Cisco's documentation.

"[Friday's] ruling is a significant win for Cisco," said Mark Chandler, Cisco's vice president and general counsel. "We are gratified by the serious consideration the court is giving the issue of protection of intellectual property rights around the world."

A US-based Huawei spokeswoman said the company was pleased with the ruling because Huawei has already taken actions to ensure the code and manuals in question had been removed.

"We expect it to have no material impact on our business going forward," she said.

She also said the ruling would have no impact on Huawei's joint venture with 3Com Corp.

Cisco filed the patent and copyright-infringement lawsuit in January, claiming the company illegally copied software, documentation and other aspects from Cisco products. At least five patents were infringed, Cisco said.
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