Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) Secures Win Over Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) In Patent Battle

Andy Parker
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Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) Secures Win Over Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) In Patent Battle

Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) has secured a significant win in a patent battle against Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) that revolves around copyright infringement.

Arista’s win against Cisco will allow it to resume the import of redesigned products into the US. The importation of these products had been put on hold since January to pave way for the ongoing patent battle. Jess Lubert, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) announced that the networking equipment vendor won the patent battle and this caused shares to rally by 2%.

“Our checks indicate that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) patent and appeal board invalidated Cisco’s ‘577 patent, which was one of the two patents in the ‘945 case Arista was found to have violated,” said Lubert in a written statement.

The win signifies a go-ahead for Arista

Wells Fargo stated that the USPTO findings on the ‘577 patent were confirmed though it had not yet received the USPTO’s verdict regarding the ‘668 patent which was also under review by the Patents and Appeals Board. According to Lubert, the win was good for Arista because the patent would have required it to make major changes to its hardware. He also stated that the win was encouraging, though the company still faces the possibility of an injunction unless the U.S. Patent and Trademark office also renders the ‘668 patent invalid.

The final decision is currently pending the presidential review period which will end on July 3 this year. If the ‘668 patent is not invalidated, then Arista will face the import ban once again. The ban will remain in place until the firm comes up with a workaround that is supposed to be submitted and approved by US customs. The whole process might take as long as 6 to 12 months and this would definitely affect Arista’s business. Cisco filed the patent battle, arguing that Arista had redesigned its products using IP that was copied from Cisco.

Arista stock closed the latest trading session on Thursday at $148.06 after the stock rallied by 2.62% compared to the value during the previous close.