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Cisco sued for “immense patent” fraud

by on26 March 2014



Nortel patents rear their heads again

The outfit which bought Nortel patents from Rockstar is now chasing Cisco and demanding money with legal menaces. Spherix said that Cisco was committing “immense” infringement by the network vendor’s switches, routers and other products inspired by the patents it owned.

Spherix began in 1967 as a research company focused on biotech then it bought Nortel Patents from Rockstar which had acquired them for $4.5 billion after Nortel went bankrupt in 2009. The company claims that Cisco had infringed 11 patents in a wide range of its network gear and continues to do so. All the patents were issued to people who were working for Nortel or related entities at the time of invention.

Cisco platforms, including the GSR12000 Series service-provider routers, the ONS 15454 optical multiservice provisioning system and the Nexus line of data-centre switches are named in the suit.

“The vast majority of Cisco’s switching and routing revenue from March 2008 until the present is and has been generated by products and services implementing technology that infringes the Asserted Patents,” the complaint said.

Spherix wants unspecified damages plus interest, as well as enhanced damages for deliberate infringement, and rulings from the court that Cisco has infringed the patents.

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