An International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled in favor of Trend Micro in a patent infringement suit against security appliance maker Fortinet.
The company said the ITC judge determined that Fortinet's FortiGate antivirus firewall appliance products infringe Trend Micro's U.S. patent 5,623,600, covering server-based antivirus technology. The patent covers technology that scan email and internet data transfers for viruses at gateways and servers. As a result, the judge has recommended that the ITC issue an order prohibiting Fortinet from importing FortiGate products into the United States.
"We have always been committed to protecting the company's spirit of innovation and its intellectual property, and with the results of this case, we feel that we have achieved that goal," said Carolyn Bostick, corporate vice president and general counsel of Trend Micro. "We are very pleased by the judge's decision."
But Fortinet has hit back and said it will contest the ruling.
"Fortinet believes that it has been developing products with its own proprietary technology," said Ken Xie, founder, president and CEO of Fortinet in a statement. "Fortinet has and will continue to operate with the belief that all companies should respect the intellectual property rights of others."
