Ciena filed a legal complaint in a U.S. District Court charging Nortel Networks with infringing on six patents related to Ciena’s communications networking systems and technology.
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- In January 2003, Nortel Networks and CIENA reached a settlement in the pending lawsuit originally brought by Nortel Networks in March 2000 against ONI Systems alleging patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. Ciena subsequently acquired ONI. As part of the settlement, Nortel Networks grants CIENA a license under certain patents in exchange for a $25 million one-time payment. The companies further agreed not to sue each other for patent infringement for two years, during which time they sought to negotiate a cross-license arrangement.