Multiven Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Cisco

Redwood City, Calif. – December 1, 2008, Multiven, Inc. (“Multiven”) today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Cisco Systems, Inc. (“Cisco”) in an effort to open up the network maintenance services marketplace for Cisco equipment, promote competition and ensure consumer choice and value. Multiven’s complaint alleges that Cisco harmed Multiven and consumers by bundling and tying bug fixes/patches and updates for its operating system software to its maintenance services (“SMARTnet”) and through a series of other illegal exclusionary and anticompetitive acts designed to maintain Cisco’s monopoly in the network maintenance services market for Cisco networking equipment.

The complaint recites that instead of making these necessary software “updates” and bug fixes available to all customers that have purchased its operating software license, as does Microsoft, Apple and Hewlett-Packard, and many others, Cisco makes these software “updates” and bug fixes available only to those customers that have purchased Cisco’s SMARTnet.

The lawsuit further alleges that Cisco has engaged in the aforementioned anticompetitive schemes and practices to prevent Independent Service Organizations (“ISOs”) and competitors like Multiven from servicing Cisco networking equipment. These acts and practices of defendant Cisco have had the following monopolistic, anticompetitive and injurious effects in the marketplace for network services:

• Competition in the market for service and maintenance of Cisco networking equipment has been suppressed and virtually eliminated. Additionally, ISOs have been effectively precluded from competing for and earning profits on the servicing of Cisco networking equipment.
• Customers have been deprived choice and forced to purchase Cisco SMARTnet maintenance services over that of substantially better quality and/or lower priced maintenance services from plaintiff Multiven, and other ISOs; and
• Consumers have been harmed because supracompetitive prices have been maintained and increased, and the quantity, quality and variety of service offerings in the marketplace has been reduced and constrained.

Multiven’s requested remedies are intended to give consumers greater freedom and flexibility while at the same time ensuring that the network maintenance services marketplace develops into an open and competitive industry. Multiven believes that these remedies will help promote consumer rights worldwide and effect corrective action that will ensure that Cisco competes solely based on the quality and value of its services.

The suit was filed in the United States District Court in San Jose, California, USA.

Multiven is represented by Maxwell M. Blecher, Donald R. Pepperman and James Robert Noblin of Blecher & Collins, P.C. in Los Angeles, California, USA. For questions regarding this antitrust lawsuit, please contact Blecher & Collins - www.blechercollins.com

• Read the official Multiven complaint (2.5 MB)

About Multiven

Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Multiven provides premium multivendor IP network services that maximize network infrastructure investments for businesses of all sizes. Multiven’s customers, which include small and medium businesses, network service providers and fortune 500 enterprises, enjoy vendor-neutral consultations, increased network availability and a reduced network maintenance and capital expenditure. For more information about Multiven, please visit www.multiven.com.

Multiven is a registered trademark of Multiven, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.