Mark Chandler

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When we launched our District Court and International Trade Commission (ITC) actions in 2014, we promised to provide ongoing updates on their progress. On February 2, Judge Shaw issued a ruling in the first ITC case (‘944) that Arista had violated three of five Cisco patents. Despite a large number of redactions, the reasons for […]

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Today International Trade Commission Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), David Shaw released the 294-page public version of his ruling in  the first of two patent infringement cases involving Arista that Cisco had initiated at the ITC. Today’s ruling follows last week’s publication of his proposed remedies. These important documents lay out the intentional nature of Arista’s […]

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Earlier this week, Cisco received some welcome news. The U.S Patent and Trademark Office has rejected Arista’s second attempt to invalidate a Cisco patent that was asserted in the ‘945 International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation. This is also a patent where the ITC staff recommended a finding of infringement. We are now looking forward to […]

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Earlier today, the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a ruling in the first of their investigations into Arista. This follows a lengthy investigation, a review of thousands of pages of briefing materials and supporting evidence, and a two-week hearing involving testimony and cross-examination. We thank Judge Shaw and the ITC staff for their diligence. Specifically […]

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Arista’s filing of bogus antitrust claims today is not accidental or a coincidence. The claims, most of which were included in earlier Arista filings, are a smokescreen to divert attention from the important ruling expected from the International Trade Commission (ITC) on February 2*. This is when Judge Shaw will rule on the validity of […]

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With the second International Trade Commission (ITC) trial regarding Arista’s use of Cisco’s proprietary networking technology patents almost complete, now is a good time to provide an update. As you will recall, Cisco filed copyright and patent infringement cases against Arista last December in the District Court in Northern California. One case, focused on 12 […]

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Our legal action to stop Arista’s copying and use of Cisco’s intellectual property is proceeding according to schedule. With a number of important procedural steps about to take place, we feel now is a good time to provide an update. Last December we brought two actions in the United States District Court for the Northern […]

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We’ve promised to provide regular updates about important events related to our litigation to stop Arista’s wrongful copying of Cisco’s copyrighted and patented intellectual property. An action by the Supreme Court of the United States this week has the potential to change the landscape for our US District Court action related to our CLI technology. In […]

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The House Judiciary Committee today approved patent reform legislation that helps create a level playing field for those seeking to encourage innovation. This is the second time in two weeks that a key Congressional committee voted in favor of reform. It is a clear demonstration of the bipartisan, bicameral support for reform. Like any legislation, […]

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The Senate Judiciary Committee today overwhelmingly approved patent litigation reform, clearing a hurdle which proved insurmountable in the last Congress. This is a major milestone that demonstrates strong bipartisan, bicameral support for meaningful patent reform. It clears the way for the Senate to act. The bill approved by Committee takes a major step toward restoring […]

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The introduction of Protecting American Talent and Entrepreneurship (PATENT) Act of 2015 represents a major milestone on the long road to patent reform. On behalf of Cisco, let me thank Senators Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Schumer, Lee, Hatch and Klobuchar for their work to forge bipartisan support for this legislation. The problem of abusive patent litigation […]

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Privacy and human rights advocates, technology companies, and trade associations have today called on U.S. political leaders to reform the country’s surveillance laws. We add our voice to those calls. These reforms will help show the world that the U.S. Government is ready to lead the dialogue on global standards of conduct, and wants to […]

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Today Arista moved to formally delay the target date for completion of the ITC case by six months. These cases involve the pervasive copying of Cisco's intellectual property and these cases should progress quickly and we will oppose any delay.

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“Today’s decision by the IEEE Board of Directors is a significant victory for consumers and for those who want a reasonable and stable patent system that supports innovation. In making this decision, the IEEE supported those companies who are willing to both grant and receive licenses for patents required for use in IEEE standards on reasonable terms.  […]

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We previously committed to providing important updates on our legal action over Arista’s pervasive copying and misappropriation of Cisco intellectual property. Today, an International Trade Commission (ITC) Administrative Law Judge issued an order rejecting Arista’s request to consolidate Cisco’s two ITC complaints. Arista’s request had itself included an acknowledgement that consolidation could cause a six […]

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A short while ago, the International Trade Commission (ITC) took an important first step toward the speedy review and action we requested regarding Arista’s widespread infringement of Cisco’s patented networking technology. We welcome the ITC’s initial action in this case, and by voting to commence an investigation into our complaints regarding Arista’s use of Cisco’s patented […]

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Last week marked the first steps forward for a broad-based coalition of businesses who are working together to fight wanton abuse of the patent litigation system by patent assertion entities (PAEs). The coalition – United for Patent Reform – is comprised of grocery, hotel, retail, restaurant and technology associations and companies including Cisco. Our mission: to […]

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Today’s definitive agreement for purchase of the Rockstar patents by a subsidiary of patent clearinghouse RPX Corporation, with simultaneous licensing of the portfolio to more than 30 technology companies, including Cisco, represents a victory for common sense.

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Today, we have formally asked the US International Trade Commission for an injunction (in ITC parlance, an “exclusion order”) blocking Arista from importing and selling products that use Cisco’s patented technologies in the United States.

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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 […]

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On behalf of Cisco, let me congratulate President Obama on nominating Michelle Lee to be Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Over the past year as Deputy Director, Michelle Lee has demonstrated that she has what it takes to oversee the Patent and Trademark Office. She’s already taken needed steps to cut the patent […]

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Today’s security challenges are real and significant.  We want governments to detect and disrupt terrorist networks before they inflict harm on our society, our citizens, and our systems of government.   We also want to live in countries that respect their citizens’ basic human rights.  The tension between security and freedom has become one the most pressing […]

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I’ve commented here about the imperative to return to a patent system that incents and rewards innovation and discourages the speculators and opportunists who are using litigation leverage and bad patents to extract money from the productive elements of the economy.  That’s why we urge the Senate to follow the House’s overwhelming, bipartisan vote to […]

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We're pleased to announce today that we've achieved full protection for millions of Cisco customers from the overblown and specious claims of a very aggressive patent assertion entity.

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“The House of Representatives today took measured and reasonable steps against the misuse of the legal system by patent assertion entities, by passing legislation to dry up the financial incentives that allow patent assertion entities to thrive. As a company that has a portfolio of over 10,000 US patents by dint of our strong culture […]

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“For years, patent assertion entities – otherwise known as patent trolls – have been targeting businesses large and small with frivolous lawsuits, threat letters, and intimidation tactics.  Lately, the problem has been getting worse, with 60% of new lawsuits filed by patent assertion entities, up from 25% in 2007. Today, the House Judiciary Committee took […]

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“Cisco applauds introduction of the Innovation Act,  legislation which aims to address the growing problem of patent assertion entities, often called patent trolls. “According to a new study released this week, the problem is getting worse.  Nearly 60 percent of new patent lawsuits are being filed by patent assertion entities, up from 25% in 2007.  […]

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President Obama yesterday provided executive leadership on an issue that is of critical importance to American businesses, consumers and the U.S. economy. The U.S. patent system has long been held up as a model for promoting ingenuity and encouraging our national history of invention and entrepreneurship.  Recently, however, abusive patent litigation brought who have figured […]

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Cisco submitted the following Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post: October 17, 2012 Washington Post Letter to the Editor, In a page one article last Thursday entitled, “US rivals lobby against Chinese firm,” the Post implies that Cisco engaged in a lobbying campaign against Huawei on Capitol Hill regarding national security issues, and […]

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Last week, I wrote about statements made by Charles Ding, Huawei’s Senior Vice President and Chief Representative in the U.S., Mr. Ding explained the 2003-2004 intellectual property litigation between Cisco and Huawei as follows: “Huawei provided our source code of our products to Cisco for review and the results were that there was not any […]

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To facilitate the understanding about what actually happened in the Cisco v. Huawei litigation and allow Huawei to itself clear up any confusion, we waive any confidentiality requirement for the sealed report and suggest that Huawei itself have the expert's complete final report put into the public domain.

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The Apple-Samsung case not only proves that our system can still work but also reflects the genius behind our patent system.

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Cisco is proud that our employees have played leading roles in the creation of interoperability standards, just as they have invented many of the foundational technologies used in the global data network.

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The fees paid by users of the PTO should cover the cost of the services the PTO provides, and the fees, once paid, should actually be available to the PTO to provide those services and not diverted to other purposes.

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An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal explores how US companies, including Cisco, are working with the Chongqing government in a wide-ranging public infrastructure project.   First, as a matter of policy, Cisco has not and will not sell video surveillance cameras or video surveillance management software in its public infrastructure projects in China.  We were […]

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First things first – Cisco believes in the Internet and its ability to educate, unite, empower, challenge, disrupt, collaborate, create and inspire, and the equipment we provide helps the Internet work. Cisco strongly supports free expression and open communication on the Internet. We are proud to have played a leading role in helping to make […]