Company Allegedly Copies Proprietary Interface

Case Overview

This case takes place in Montana and involves claims by a leading manufacturer of computer hardware against another company, alleging that the defendant has copied proprietary components of a graphic user interface (UI originally developed by the plaintiff for use in a competing product. The attorneys in this case required an expert in computer networking hardware who could speak to whether the words and symbols used in this particular interface were copyrightable, or if they are derived from industry standards and norms. An expert in intellectual property (IP was sought to opine on the issue.

Questions to the Telecommunications expert and their responses

Do you have experience managing networks using routers?

I have over 20-years of database and operations experience with Cisco, Juniper, Arista and similar equipment from various other manufacturers.

Do you have a comprehensive understanding of computer interfaces?

I have advanced knowledge of Cisco CLI, API and GUI management interfaces and tools; the vast majority of my experience lies within Cisco IOS, (including IOS-XE, IOS-XR and CatalystOS, LightStreamOS & NetSpeedOS).

Have you taught, spoken, or written about this or related subjects in any school, forum or publication?

During my career, I have had the opportunity to publish various specialized configuration guides, proof-of-concept documentation, build Cisco-specific CLI/GUI automation tools, teach Cisco-focused courses for customers, and educate junior engineers while at Cisco along with many public speaking engagements that covered a wide array of Cisco-specific technical topics (including CLI configuration examples).

Are you familiar with multiword command line interfaces?

When I and my colleagues from Cisco first heard about this suit, we were surprised. There are a number of companies with extremely similar command line interfaces.

About the expert

For over 20 years this expert has designed, spec'd, built and operated networks that have been primarily run by switches, routers, firewalls and other Cisco equipment. His work has allowed him the pleasure of building traditional telephony, IP telephony, video, enterprise and datacenter networks that have each supported thousands of endpoints and servers. In two cases the networks have been global, the largest of which stretched across seven data centers and twelve voice Points of Presence (POPs) on five continents. In all cases, he was primarily responsible for design, configuration and maintenance of the underlying network equipment.