Brocade, A10 Networks Settle Patent Dispute

The agreement brings to rest a more than two-year legal battle between the two networking companies, prompted by Brocade's 2010 claims that A10 had based its AX Series of load balancers on Brocade's patents. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The deal follows a January verdict from the San Jose Federal Court that ruled A10 pay $60 million in damages to Brocade, and granted Brocade an injunction preventing A10 from selling select products found to infringe on Brocade's patents.

[Related: Brocade To Partners: New HyperEdge Technology Will Change The Conversation ]

A separate ruling in August 2012 ordered A10 Networks to pay punitive damages of $112 million to Brocade on charges of patent infringement and engaging in unfair competition. Specifically, the jury ruled in Brocade's favor on three claims of patent infringement involving A10's AX Series load balancers, and found A10 guilty of misappropriating four Brocade trade secrets and directly copying proprietary Brocade code from Brocade ServerIron products for use in A10 products.

The settlement between Brocade and A10 came just prior to the two companies being slated to re-enter the courtroom to battle it out over additional damages.

Both A10 and Brocade said they are satisfied with the outcome of the case.

"We are pleased with this outcome for A10 and Brocade to settle our disputes with an amicable agreement," said A10 Network's Chen in a statement. "This allows A10 to continue to put customers first with a sharp focus on providing the industry's most versatile, scalable and efficient platforms for intelligent cloud services."

A Brocade spokesperson also said the company is "pleased with the resolution" of the lawsuit.

PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2013