Cisco Systems recently sued Arista Networks alleging its networking products infringe 14 Cisco patents and a number of copyrights. Arista stock dropped -7%.
Cisco claims Arista Network's rapid ascent is due to patent infringement and extensive copying from Cisco user manuals and over 500 Cisco commands used to configure networking products. Whether any of this proves true, Arista appears to be a rising competitor which Cisco would like to slow down. Arista includes a number of key people that left Cisco, went public six months ago, and has a market valuation of nearly $5 billion. It will be interesting to see if Arista files any counterclaims.
Cisco's Mark Chandler tells us his view in Protecting Innovation: "In the thirteen years I've been General Counsel of Cisco, I can count on one hand the number of times we've initiated suit against a competitor, supplier or customer. It's therefore only after thoughtful and serious consideration that we are today filing two lawsuits to stop Arista’s repeated and pervasive copying of key inventions in Cisco products. These suits cover key Cisco proprietary patented features and Cisco's copyrighted materials."
Cisco's patent infringement complaint including patents
Cisco's copyright infringement complaint
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