3Com-Huawei product gets copyright all-clear
Networking equipment maker 3Com said an independent third party verified that the first product from its joint venture with China's Huawei Technologies complied with international copyright requirements.
The United States-based firm on Monday unveiled in Hong Kong a local area network device - Switch 7700 - modified by 3Com from a Huawei product.
3Com had spent six to nine months developing the product, said the company's Hong Kong sales manager, Rockies Ma.
'It was verified by our specialist and independent legal experts that the product passed the intellectual property rights standard,' he said. 'We do not see any impact from the [Cisco-Huawei] lawsuit on our products or our joint venture.'
In March, 3Com announced a US$160 million Hong Kong-based joint venture with Huawei, which faces a lawsuit brought by Cisco Systems accusing it of copyright infringements.
Cisco won a victory this month when a US federal judge ordered Huawei to stop distributing products that included the US company's proprietary technology.
Rachel Lo, an analyst at research firm International Data Corp, said: 'Because of the lawsuit, 3Com has to be particularly careful about new products launched by the [joint venture].'
Switch 7700 will be released next week.
