Following a Ruling of $2bn in Fines, Cisco Requests New Trial

After spending a month in a trial held via Zoom, Cisco was found guilty of copyright infringement. The patents belong to the Virginia-based cybersecurity company Centripetal Networks. This is actually the first virtual trial of its kind, which was conducted using Zoom after the judge in the case rejected the notion of using Cisco’s popular Webex offering after the company suggested it, citing security concerns.

There are four patents in question, and they date back to initial meetings the two companies had back in 2016 when the duo met to talk about technology designed by Centripetal. The technologies in question deal with speed and scalability as well as live updates and automated workflows. According to Paul Andre, the attorney representing Centripetal, the two companies met back in 2016 to discuss technologies under a non-disclosure agreement. He added, “Cisco kept coming back and asking more.”

The ruling judge, in this case, District Judge, Henry Morgan, concluded, “The fact that Cisco released products with Centripetal’s functionality within a year of these meetings goes beyond mere coincidence. It is clear and not a close call,” he asserted. Morgan also decided that Cisco’s conduct was ‘wilful and egregious’ and multiplied the $756 million Cisco owed by 2.5, bringing the total fine to the sum of $1,889,521,362.50. With interest, Cisco faces nearly $2 billion in penalties.

The networking giant said it would appeal the court’s decision, stating it had sufficient evidence to prove its case and that it had not infringed upon Centripetal’s copyrights. On Monday of this week, Cisco did just that, asking for a new trial in a new motion filed. In the motion, Cisco claimed the initial October 5 ruling was reached based on new theories Cisco was unaware of. Therefore, it had no time to defend itself against the claims.

If it had known, the company said it would have submitted additional evidence to add more weight to its claims that it had not infringed upon Centripetal’s copyrights. It asked for a new trial “To permit Cisco to submit additional evidence and argument in response to the new theories.” I reached out to Cisco for a comment and a spokesperson told me in an email:

“We are disappointed with the trial court’s decision given the substantial evidence of non-infringement, invalidity and that Cisco’s innovations predate the patents by many years. We look forward to the Federal Circuit’s review on appeal”

Steven Rogers, CEO of Centripetal Networks, wrote in a statement regarding the ruling:

“The Court’s ruling affirms the opportunity for innovative companies like ours to develop solutions for the largest market opportunities. We’ve worked toward a paradigm shift in security through our development of the fundamental technologies behind CleanINTERNET”

Meanwhile, on Cisco’s collaboration front, its popular Webex offering is gaining even more traction during the pandemic. In September, the software clocked in a record of 590 million participants. In October, the company said it would be well on track to surpass that number. The likes of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms designed to connect us have also gained massive followings during COVID-19. Just last week, Microsoft Teams announced it had reached a record of 115 million daily active users, and Zoom has over 300 million users.