Radware Sues F5 For Patent Infringement

In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, Radware alleges that F5's 3-DNS and Big-IP traffic management product lines infringe on a patent awarded to Radware in April. The patent covers methods for determining network proximity and its use in load balancing decisions--technology Radware has incorporated into its Web Server Director product line, according to a company statement.

The complaint alleges that the manufacture, use and sale of F5's 3-DNS and Big-IP products infringe on the patent. The Mahwah, N.J., company seeks monetary damages as well as permanent injunctive relief, according to the statement.

"Since inception, Radware has been focused on investment in R&D and has continued to demonstrate its leadership and innovation in the Application Switching space," said Roy Zisapel, president and CEO of Radware, in the statement. "Unfortunately, we learned that in order to protect our intellectual property and our investment in R&D we must, in certain cases, resort to legal action."

Executives from F5, Seattle, were unable to comment on the lawsuit because they had not yet seen a formal complaint, a spokeswoman said.