A patent infringement may ban Cisco & HP from importing routers
Posted on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 03:02 PM
Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard Co. are accused of infringing a patent for routers and wireless networks in a complaint that may result in a ban of U.S. imports of their products.
ChriMar Systems Inc. also known as CMS Technologies is the patent holder who filed a 
complaint on November 1st, 2011 against Cisco and HP at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The ITC is an agency that has the power to block imports of products made outside the U.S. that are found to infringe on U.S. patent rights.
The complaint targets telephones, wireless access points, routers and other devices that comply with an industry standard for transmitting electrical power over Ethernet cables.
Cisco, the world’s largest manufacturer of routers, has around 32-39 manufacturing centers located internationally, but exactly where is not public knowledge. Most are in South-East Asia, Europe and the Americas with the most well-known ones in Mexico. Our research turned up that centers are often labeled as “Satellite Customer Service Center” or “Cisco Certified Product Distribution Location.
HP products are made in China, Singapore and India. The complaint also names HP’s 3Com Corporation, Avaya Inc. and Extreme Networks who also mostly manufacturer overseas.
Upholding this Patent Infringement could actually be good for America in a few ways:
- This could be a reason that some manufacturer jobs are brought back to the U.S. as well as the cash these manufacturers are holding overseas
- Realizing the supply chain of Routers and other devices could be severely disrupted, the I.T. aftermarket in the U.S. (made up mostly of U.S. small businesses) would receive its well- deserved relevance by being the source of this equipment, while the manufacturers overcome this challenge.
We live in a global economy with many patents on technology and global events that could affect the supply chain of technology that our economy and government depend on at any time (See our blog on: Expect shipping delays from Cisco, Dell and HP due to Thai flooding!)
Since most computer resellers sell New and Refurbished products, Federal Agencies and Corporations should view the source of refurbished products just “as” important as those of new products.
Recently, Federal Agencies have limited competition on RFQs with language that does not allow for the vendor to be a non-authorized reseller or provide refurbished equipment.
In the case of disk drive supply drying up due to flooding and facing routers supplies drying up to patent infringements, these organizations ought to rethink their supplier and acquisition strategies.
