On March 26, Cozen O'Connor attorneys David Reichenberg and Thomas Ingalls were honored at the GCR (Global Competition Review) 9th Annual Awards Ceremony for "Litigation of the Year – Non-Cartel Prosecution” for their work on the Arista Networks v Cisco Systems case. The antitrust litigation between Arista and Cisco established for the first time that a copyright lawsuit can be a part of the basis of an antitrust violation. Arista alleged that Cisco encouraged industry-wide adoption of its command-line interface (CLI) – used to configure Ethernet switches – for more than a decade and hit Arista with a copyright infringement suit that claimed its CLI was for Cisco's exclusive use. Arista accused Cisco of reversing its policy on CLI and engaging in associated intimidation tactics to monopolize the Ethernet switch market. A California court found that Cisco did not just sue for copyright infringement but used the suit in an alleged smear campaign to gain a market advantage. The court's ruling in May 2018 set the table for an August 2018 eve-of-trial global settlement of all intellectual property and antitrust claims.

 

Launched in 1997, GCR is recognized as the world's leading competition law and policy journal and news service. GCR prides itself on publishing informative competition news with breaking news commentary and analysis five days a week, as well as original in-depth reports, interviews and features on antitrust enforcement worldwide. GCR publishes independent, renowned signature rankings including the GCR 100 and Rating Enforcement.