Chinese telecoms equipment company Huawei Technologies
unlawfully copied Cisco software for one of its products, including
the bugs in the program, according to a filing in a US federal
court by the world's largest maker of routers, the devices that
direct internet communications.
Cisco sued Huawei, the market leader in China, in January. Cisco
alleged a pattern of "blatant and systematic copying" of its source
code and other materials and infringed several patents that led
Huawei to produce routers and other equipment that operate exactly
like Cisco's.
Last week, Cisco turned down FBI agents who sought Cisco's
co-operation in a criminal investigation. According to FT.com, it
is suggested that such an investigation could jeopardise Cisco's
trade position with China, although the company did not
comment.
Cisco has filed papers in court showing that Huawei tried to
recruit Cisco engineers for key projects and asked one Cisco
employee to provide detailed information on one Cisco product,
according to The Wall Street Journal today.
Cisco is seeking damages and an injunction to block sales of the
Chinese company's equipment.
