Software Piracy beyond the Street Corner Essay -- Technology Lawsuits

Software Piracy beyond the Street CornerOn January 23, 2003, the worlds leading computer networking equipment maker Cisco Systems, headquartered in San Jose California, filed a lawsuit against China-based Huawei Technologies and its United States subsidiaries Huawei America and FutureWei Technologies. In the lawsuit, Cisco alleged that Huawei stole intellectual property by copying its Internet Operating System (IOS) computer software and its copyrighted user manuals. Cisco also claimed that Huawei infringed on its patents. After numerous failed attempts to resolve these complaints directly with Huawei, which included a cease and desist letter to unity of Huaweis United Kingdom distributors, Cisco decided that a lawsuit was necessary to protect the company and its shareholders interests. The lawsuit was processed with United States partition Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This paper will provide an overview of this landmark case and discuss whether each company had a di vergent view of ethics that originated from differing cultural perspectives. I. Case BackgroundCisco Systems 77 page complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Easter District of Texas demanded a trial by jury in response to Huaweis misappropriation and intellectual property infringement in the development of its competing Quidway routers. One of Huaweis United States based wholly-owned subsidiary, FutureWei, is located in Plano, Texas the other subsidiary Huawei America is located in Californias Silicon Valley, nearby Cisco Systems headquarters. The China-based rear company is a multi-billion dollar corporation that has manufactured network and telecommunications equipment since 1988.Huawei marketed its Quidway router... ... Huawei Cisco Code is Gone, April 15, 2003, http//www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=312533 Cisco Wins Huawei Injunction, June 9, 2003, http//www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=350584 Managing in the Multicultural Environment, Char is Intercultural Training Corporation, 2004.5 Differences of Opinion The Cisco-Huawei compositors case, The Hoffman Agency, China High Tech PR Newsletter, http//www.chinahightechpr.com/fullArticle.cfm?code=2846 WTO Ministerial Conference Approves Chinas Accession, November 10, 2001 Press Release, http//www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres01_e/pr252_e.htm7 The United States and China smart Property Rights (IPR) and Protection, http//usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/iprcn/8 Baase, S. A Gift of Fire, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, 2003.Flags obtained from http//www.enchantedlearning.com