A Northern District of California court issued a preliminary injunction on Monday barring two Chinese entities from producing or selling counterfeit versions of Ciena Corporation transceivers, devices used to transmit and receive data.
The court adopted a proposed order submitted by the plaintiff after considering its motion, supporting filings, and arguments made during a hearing. Reportedly, defendants Wuhan Wolon Communication Technology Co. Ltd. and Wuhan Wolon Cloud Network Communication Technology Co. Ltd. (together, Wolon) received notice of the hearing, but failed to appear.
Last month, Cisco Systems Inc., Cisco Technology Inc. (together, Cisco), and Ciena brought separate actions against Wolon seeking damages and injunctive relief in view of the allegedly counterfeit products Wolon offered for sale bearing the plaintiffs’ trademarks. The San Jose, California lawsuits explained that inauthentic and unverified products not only harm the plaintiffs’ brands, but moreover, put purchasers at risk of security breaches, data loss, and other technological malfunctions.
Alongside its complaint, Ciena filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, which the court granted in an opinion dated July 23. It simultaneously issued an order for the defendants to show why a preliminary injunction should not also be issued against Wolon, enjoining it and its agents “from actions relating to their alleged counterfeiting and infringement of Ciena’s trademarks, among other things, and enjoining financial institutions, eCommerce websites, domain name registrars, Internet search engines, and common carriers … from providing related services to Defendants.”
This week’s order noted that despite receiving notice of the requirement to respond to the order to show cause, Wolon filed no response. In turn, the preliminary injunction restrains Wolon from falsely representing itself as being connected with Ciena, applying false descriptions or representations to products it sells, and destroying electronic evidence pending entry of final judgment in the trademark action. The order also freezes Wolon’s assets, and finally, it notes that the parties subject to the litigation including third party Alibaba, “remain obligated to produce expedited discovery.”
Ciena and Cisco are represented by Bartko Zankel Bunzel & Miller PC.
