Cisco Secures Injunction Against Chinese Counterfeiters

Cisco scored a major victory this week after it secured an injunction against four Chinese companies manufacturing and selling counterfeit versions of its networking hardware.

As The Wall Street Journal reports(Opens in a new window), the temporary injunction was granted following a lawsuit filed by Cisco in the Eastern District of New York. It pointed to four Chinese manufacturers—Shenzhen Tianheng Network Co., Gezhi Photonics Technology Co. Ltd., Shenzhen Sourcelight Technology Co., and Dariocom—which the company accused of producing counterfeit versions of its transceivers.

The network transceiver allows for the transmission of data on a network and Cisco supplies them as part of its corporate networking gear for use in a range scenarios, some of which require a very high level of security. These include hospitals, military facilities, and many corporate environments.

The four manufacturers in question are thought to account for over half of all counterfeit transceiver production, so blocking sales of their products should have a positive impact. The injunction means all major online retailers—including Amazon and eBay—can no longer allow products offered by these companies, but branded Cisco, to be sold. This should also make it easier for those companies purchasing Cisco hardware to be confident it is actually manufactured by Cisco.

Another positive outcome of the lawsuit is all assets owned by the named Chinese companies are being frozen, making it much more difficult for them to continue trading, at least outside of China.

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