A verdict from a federal jury that found networking equipment corporation Cisco Systems, Inc. fraudulently obtained technology developed by patent licenser XpertUniverse Inc.’s and violated two of the New York-based company’s patents. The jury ordered Cisco to pay $70 million in civil fraud damages and an additional $34,000 in damages for the patent infringement claims. Reuters reported that Cisco plans to appeal if the judge leaves the jury verdict intact.
XpertUniverse said in its lawsuit that Cisco approached the patent licenser in 2004 and the companies worked together until 2007 in a relationship in which Cisco would distribute technology developed by XpertUniverse. According to Reuters, XpertUniverse said that the companies signed a non-disclosure agreement before it showed Cisco “every aspect of its intellectual property.” XpertUniverse alleged that Cisco “infringed its patents and misappropriated certain confidential and trade secret information from XpertUniverse during the course of a business relationship between the parties.”
One year after severing the relationship with XpertUniverse, Cisco launched “Expert on Demand,” a software platform allegedly based on software that XpertUniverse developed. Bloomberg News reported that XpertUniverse filed the lawsuit against Cisco in 2009, claiming “officials strung it along for more than six months, holding out the possibility of a lucrative partnership, without revealing that Cisco had rejected the deal.”
XpertUniverse said the Cisco filed for patents on technology developed by the patent licenser. It is important for companies of all sizes to make sure that valuable confidential information is legally protected before entering any business relationship. You can learn more about trade secrets litigation by visiting our website. If you need legal representation to safeguard your own patented material or another party has violated a contractual agreement, contact our firm at [number] or fill out the form on this page to let our Los Angeles patent infringement attorney review your case.
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