Chinese Telecom Equipment Maker Pulls Disputed Products From U.S. MarketsChinese Telecom Equipment Maker Pulls Disputed Products From U.S. Markets

HONG KONG (AP) -- Huawei Technologies Co., China's largest telecom equipment maker, said Friday it has withdrawn products from the U.S. market that Cisco Systems Inc. alleged in a lawsuit contained illegally copied software.

However, the Chinese company said it would "vigorously" defend itself against Cisco's claims.

"Huawei is an innovative and pioneering company that has always greatly valued and respected both its own and other companies' intellectual property rights," Huawei said in a statement.

Last month, Cisco filed a patent and copyright-infringement lawsuit against Huawei, claiming the company illegally copied software, documentation and other aspects from Cisco products. Cisco claims at least five patents were infringed.

The lawsuit contends that Huawei's infringement ranged from the verbatim copying of Cisco technical documentation to programming codes, including sections that are used for testing but don't function in the final products.

Huawei, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said the products under contention were a small part of its overall U.S. business and that the parts of the software in question were "small and unimportant."

However, it said it withdrew the products, mainly Quidway routers, from its Web site and has stopped their distribution and sale. It accused Cisco of using litigation to "enhance its market position."

"As Huawei develops and releases new products that will not be subject to Cisco's claims, the company's Web site will reflect those new product offerings," it said.

Huawei has been expanding into overseas markets, challenging Cisco with similar products at lower prices.