A US judge has ordered Cisco Systems to pay $70m in damages to Xpertuniverse for fraudulently obtaining the company’s technology.
XpertUniverse filed a lawsuit in 2009 in the US District Court in Delaware claiming that the networking firm violated non-disclosure terms agreed when both the firms started working together in 2004.
Under their joint project, both the firms agreed to combine XpertUniverse’s technology with Cisco’s routing technology.
However, Cisco withdrew from the project in 2007 and released an offering called "Expert on Demand," which is similar to the name used by XpertUniverse.
Reacting to the judge’s ruling, Cisco spokeswoman Kristin Carvell said the company is surprised and extremely disappointed with the jury’s verdict. "We are confident that Cisco’s conduct was appropriate throughout our relationship with XpertUniverse," Carvell said.
The jury also found that Cisco violated two XpertUniverse patents, and ordered it to pay an additional $34,000 in damages to the company.
