(Credit: Joseph Maldonado/PCMag)
Wi-Fi router maker TP-Link is suing rival Netgear over claims it’s been waging an “unlawful smear campaign” to paint the company as a threat to US national security.
The Trump administration is considering banning TP-Link's products over the vendor’s alleged ties to China. At the heart of the controversy is a fear that the Chinese government will coerce TP-Link or use its hardware to surveil Americans. TP-Link points to how it spun off from its Chinese counterpart last year and is now headquartered in Irvine, California.
But Monday’s lawsuit claims Netgear has been spreading misinformation about the company to journalists, pundits, and consultants all the while lobbying the US government. "Netgear’s misconduct has injured and threatens injury to well over a billion dollars in sales, for which it will be held accountable,” TP-Link's filing says.
The complaint doesn't provide much evidence of Netgear seeding misinformation to journalists, consultants, or US lawmakers. (The NSA's former director of cybersecurity, Rob Joyce, and ex-New York Times journalist Nicole Perloth are named.) But the lawsuit cites several instances where Netgear CEO Charles “CJ” Prober mentioned TP-Link in earning calls. This included bringing up a Bloomberg article that questioned TP-Link’s separation from its Chinese counterpart, noting the company still relies on R&D based in the country.
Although Prober appears to have brought up TP-Link to answer investor questions, the lawsuit claims he has been pushing false accusations about the company. The same complaint also argues Netgear violated a 2024 patent-dispute settlement between the two companies that prohibits it from “making any disparaging or derogatory assertions about TP-Link’s business.”
In response to the lawsuit, Netgear told PCMag: "We are aware of the complaint filed by TP-Link. The claims are without merit and we intend to respond through the appropriate legal channels. Netgear remains focused on its commitment to innovation, product security, and serving our customers."
TP-Link is demanding the court force Netgear to pay up through “injunctive relief,” including forfeiting “all ill-gotten gains and profits of Netgear resulting from its inequitable conduct.”