Enterasys Sues Rivals For Patent Infringement

In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Enterasys alleges that Santa Clara, Calif.-based Extreme and Foundry, San Jose, Calif., both are infringing on six Enterasys patents relating to virtual local area networking, multiprotocol routing and several other networking technologies, according to an Enterasys statement.

Enterasys, Andover, Mass., holds more than 640 issued or pending patents worldwide. The company did not specify what damages it is seeking.

The suit comes approximately two weeks after Enterasys revealed plans to close its Rochester, NH, facility. The closure comes as part of a cost-cutting plan unveiled in April that includes layoffs of 300 employees, or 30 percent of its staff, by the end of next quarter. Rochester was the former home base of Cabletron, Enterasys' parent company. Enterasys was spun off from Cabletron and began operating as an independent public company in 2001.