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`ARISTA 1026
`Arista v. Cisco
`IPR2016-00309
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`1/20/2017
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`Jury Clears Arista In Cisco’s $335M IP Infringement Suit - Law360
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`Jury Clears Arista In Cisco’s $335M IP
`Infringement Suit
`
`Share us on: By Dorothy Atkins
`
`Law360, San Jose (December 14, 2016, 3:05 PM EST) -- A California federal jury handed Arista Networks Inc.
`victory Wednesday in a $335 million copyright and patent infringement suit brought by Cisco Systems Inc.,
`finding Arista’s popular Ethernet switches are shielded from infringement claims by the scènes à faire doctrine.
`
`The ruling brings to a close Cisco's December 2014 lawsuit contending that Arista had infringed its copyrights and a patent by using its command-line
`interface to develop its switches. (AP)
`The ruling brings to a close Cisco’s December 2014 lawsuit contending that Arista infringed its copyrights and a
`patent by using its command-line interface to develop its switches. Cisco asked the jury to bar Arista from
`infringing and award it millions in damages.
`
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`As the trial kicked off on Nov. 28, Cisco told the eight-member jury that Arista “slavishly” copied its patented
`command-line interface to create its switch products, then marketed those products using Cisco’s name.
`
`Arista, however, countered that the command lines are protected from infringement claims under the doctrines
`of fair use, merger and scènes à faire. The scènes à faire doctrine denies infringement protection for a
`copyrighted work if its expression necessarily flows from a commonplace idea.
`
`Although Arista switches were built to recognize some of the same commands that Cisco uses, Cisco executives
`promoted its interface as the industry standard, and other companies at the time were using it, Arista said.
`
`During the two-week trial, Cisco and Arista’s former and current executives and engineers took the stand,
`including former Cisco CEO John Chambers, testifying on the history of Cisco’s user interface, how Arista
`used Cisco’s commands to develop its switches and the marketing tactics of both companies.
`
`The trial closed with testimony from John R. Black, an associate computer science professor at the University
`of Colorado who was hired by Arista. Black testified that Arista’s switches are shielded from infringement
`claims by fair use, saying Arista transformed Cisco’s command lines by programming computers to run a series
`of command lines automatically, as opposed to typing them.
`
`The commands are akin to the labels on knobs on stereo receivers, Black said. While the knobs might look the
`same and have the same labeling, what happens inside is what truly matters, he said.
`
`“Maybe the commands look the same thing to type them, but when you’re using a computer to issue them it
`doesn’t really matter what they are,” Black said.
`
`During closing arguments on Monday, Arista’s attorney Robert A. Van Nest of Keker & Van Nest LLP said
`Cisco’s interface uses simple, two-word phrases that are not creative and the interface is 40-year-old technology
`that comes from legacy systems.
`
`The commands are also not original works, and Cisco engineers were explicitly told not to be creative when they
`were developing them, he said. Therefore, the commands are uncopyrightable under the fair use, merger and
`scènes à faire doctrines.
`
`Van Nest said Cisco made a business decision to abandon its copyrights when it chose not to stop companies
`from using its interface and added that Cisco hasn’t proven patent infringement “by a mile.”
`
`He also said it is in the public’s interest for the court to find Cisco’s command lines are protected from
`infringement claims, because such innovative technology is exactly what the fair use doctrine is intended to
`protect.
`
`“Cisco is trying to change all the rules around technology and innovation,” he said.
`
`On Wednesday, the jury sided with Arista, clearing it of copyright and patent infringement claims and finding
`that Cisco’s command lines are not protected from claims under the fair use and merger doctrines but are
`protected under scènes à faire. The jury also found that Cisco did not misuse or abandon its copyrights and that
`Arista did not infringe Cisco’s technical manuals.
`
`The jury instructions had said that to be protected under the scènes à faire doctrine, Arista must show that at the
`time Cisco created its user interfaces — not at the time of any copying — external factors other than Cisco’s
`creativity dictated that Cisco select, arrange, organize and design its original features in the manner it did.
`
`“The doctrine depends on the circumstances presented to the creator at the time of creation, not the
`circumstances presented to the copier at the time it copied,” the jury instruction said.
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`Marc Taxay, senior vice president and general counsel of Arista, said in a statement that the verdict represents an
`important victory “not only for Arista, but for the entire industry.”
`
`A Cisco representative said the company disagreed with the verdict and is reviewing its details to determine its
`options for post-trial motions and appeal.
`
`The patent-in-suit is U.S. Patent Number 7,047,526.
`
`Cisco is represented by Kathleen Sullivan, Sean S. Pak, Amy H. Candido, John M. Neukom and David Nelson
`of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Steven Cherny, Adam R. Alper and Michael W. De Vries of
`Kirkland & Ellis LLP and John M. Desmarais of Desmarais LLP.
`
`Arista is represented by Robert A. Van Nest, Brian L. Ferrall, David Silbert and Michael S. Kwun of Keker &
`Van Nest LLP and Susan Creighton, Scott A. Sher, Jonathan M. Jacobson, Chul Pak and David H. Reichenberg
`of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.
`
`The case is Cisco Systems Inc. v. Arista Networks Inc., case number 5:14-cv-05344, in the U.S. District Court
`for the Northern District of California.
`
`--Editing by Brian Baresch.
`
`Related Articles
`
`Cisco, Arista Push For New Rulings In $335M IP Battle
`Cisco Presses Arista Execs On Interface Choice At IP Trial
`Cisco Says Arista's 'Blatant' Copying Merits $335M From Jury
`Cisco Says Arista ‘Slavishly’ Copied IP As Trial Opens
`
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`Case Information
`
`Case Title
`
`Cisco Systems Inc-v-Arista Networks, Inc
`
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`Jury Clears Arista In Cisco’s $335M IP Infringement Suit - Law360
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`Case Number
`
`5:14-cv-05344
`
`Court
`
`California Northern
`
`Nature of Suit
`
`Patent
`
`Judge
`
`Beth Labson Freeman
`
`Date Filed
`
`December 5, 2014
`
`Law Firms
`
`Desmarais LLP
`Keker & Van Nest
`Kirkland & Ellis
`Quinn Emanuel
`Wilson Sonsini
`
`Companies
`
`Cisco Systems Inc.
`
`Patents
`
`7,047,526 - Generic command interface for multiple executable routines
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