SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco Systems, Inc.(Nasdaq:CSCO - News), today announced that it has filed a lawsuit againstHuawei Technologies, Co., LTD and its subsidiaries, Huawei America, Inc. andFutureWei Technologies, Inc. over Huawei's unlawful copying of Cisco'sintellectual property. Cisco's suit, filed in the United States DistrictCourt for the Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Huawei unlawfullycopied and misappropriated Cisco's IOS® software, including source code,copied Cisco documentation and other copyrighted materials, and infringednumerous Cisco patents. Cisco seeks remedies to prohibit the continuedmisappropriation of its intellectual property by Huawei and recover damagesresulting from Huawei's illegal actions. Cisco also served a cease anddesist letter on Spot Distribution, a Huawei distributor located in theUnited Kingdom, for distributing Huawei products that copy Cisco'sintellectual property."Cisco's technological leadership is the result of significant investment inresearch and development, and it is Cisco's responsibility to protect itsintellectual property," said Mark Chandler, Vice President and GeneralCounsel, Cisco Systems, Inc. "Cisco does not take any legal action lightly.However, Huawei has unlawfully copied Cisco's intellectual property andrefused Cisco's numerous attempts to resolve these issues. As a result,Cisco has no choice but to protect its technology and the interests of itsshareholders through legal action."Cisco's complaint addresses the following claims:Copying of IOS source code: Cisco alleges that Huawei has copied portions ofthe Cisco IOS source code and included the technology in its operatingsystem for its Quidway routers and switches. Huawei's operating systemcontains a number of text strings, file names, and bugs that are identicalto those found in Cisco's IOS source code.Copying of Cisco's technical documentation: Cisco alleges that Huawei hascopied extensively from Cisco's copyrighted technical documentation andincluded whole portions of Cisco's text in Huawei's user manuals for Quidwayrouters and switches.Copying of Command Line Interface: Cisco alleges that Huawei has copiedCisco's Command Line Interface (CLI) and corresponding screen displays. CLI,a key component of Cisco's copyrighted IOS software, is the user interfacethat enables users to communicate with the routers. Extensive portions ofCisco's CLI and help screens appear verbatim in Huawei's operating systemfor its Quidway routers and switches.Patent infringement: Cisco alleges that Huawei is infringing at least fiveCisco patents related to proprietary routing protocols and has includedthese technologies in its Quidway routers and switches."Innovation and competition are the lifeblood of our industry and must bepreserved. But copying is not innovation and the misappropriation ofintellectual property is not competition," Chandler continued.Cisco is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Huaweifrom using, selling, marketing, or distributing versions of their Quidwayrouters and switches that infringe Cisco's intellectual property. Cisco alsois seeking monetary damages as compensation for Huawei's misappropriation ofCisco's intellectual property.A copy of Cisco's complaint can be found athttp://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/filing.pdf.Cisco Systems Inc.