Cisco anti-competitive practices lawsuits: Difference between revisions

|Company=Cisco

[[wikipedia:Cisco|Cisco Systems, Inc.]] is one of the largest manufacturers of enterprise networking equipment in the world, with a long-standing dominant share of the United States and global markets for [[wikipedia:Network switch|Ethernet switches]] and [[wikipedia:Router (computing)|routers]]. Beginning in the mid-2010s, Cisco has been the subject of antitrust complaints alleging that it leverages its near-monopoly position in maintenance services for its own equipment, primarily through service contracts marketed under the "SmartNet" brand, to compel customers to purchase additional networking hardware and to discourage them from buying through independent resellers. Two lawsuits filed by independent resellers, ''Dexon Computer, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc.'' (E.D. Tex. 2022)<ref name="courtlistener-edtx">{{cite web |title=Dexon Computer, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 5:22-cv-00053 |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63269284/dexon-computer-inc-v-cisco-systems-inc/ |website=CourtListener |publisher=Free Law Project |access-date=April 29, 2026}}</ref> and ''Summit 360, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc.'' (D. Minn. 2025),<ref name="Summit360Complaint">{{cite web |title=Complaint, Summit 360, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Case No. 0:25-cv-02202 |url=https://casefilingsalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Cisco-Accused-of-Monopoly.pdf |publisher=U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota |author=Summit 360, Inc. |date=May 22, 2025 |access-date=April 29, 2026}}</ref> have characterized these tactics using a phrase allegedly common<ref name="Summit360Complaint" /> within Cisco's own internal vocabulary: "fear, uncertainty, and doubt," or FUD. Earlier antitrust matters brought by Multiven (2008) and Arista Networks (2016) raised related concerns about how Cisco bundles software updates and other after-market services with its hardware sales.