Cisco has scored a victory over a major rival: Arista's products are banned from entering the US (CSCO, ANET)

pulse

July 6, 2017 1:55 AM

The International Trade Commission's ban on Arista's flagship products — a response to a Cisco complaint — has taken effect.

Arista CEO Jayshree Ullal

Cisco has scored a blow in its ongoing legal battles with Arista.

Arista revealed on Wednesday that the US International Trade Commission has banned the networking company from bringing its flagship products into the US from its overseas manufacturers.

The ban follows the ITC's ruling in May that Arista had infringed on two of Cisco's patents. The ITC announced the ban then, but said it would take effect only after a 60-day review period. That period ended Wednesday.

"We are still awaiting the International Trade Commission’s decision on our motion to suspend its remedial orders, which are based on patent claims that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found invalid," an Arista spokesperson said.

So the ban may last only a few days if Arista can convince the ITC to put it on hold. Or the ban may last until Arista alters its products to not use the disputed technology and gets the ITC on board with allowing them in the country again. Arista has indicated that it has developed some workarounds, including working with US manufacturers, that won't require it to import products.

Meanwhile, Cisco's lawyer Mark Chandler explained his company's ultimate goal in a blog post about Wednesday's news:

"The right solution, as we’ve emphasized from the beginning, is for Arista to stop using technology they copied from Cisco."

Cisco originally sued Arista back in 2014 alleging that Arista had infringed its copyrights and patents. Cisco also filed a complaint against Arista with the ITC, which has the power to ban patent-infringing products from being imported into the US.

Cisco lost a jury verdict in its lawsuit in December seeking $335 million in damages.

pulse