Cisco’s ‘Unprecedented’ Patent Trial to Test Video Capabilities

The limits of virtual trials during the Covid-19 pandemic are about to be tested in Cisco Systems Inc.'s complex patent dispute with a Washington-area startup.

Centripetal Networks Inc., based in Herndon, Va., is alleging that Cisco infringed five of its network security patents, and seeking almost $500 million in damages. Their bench trial—to be conducted with Zoom’s video tools—is scheduled to start May 6 in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Eastern District, known for having one of the fastest-moving dockets in the country, isn’t the first court to hold a Zoom bench trial. But ...