Zoom is suing RingCentral for what it is calling “a classic bait and switch” of customers.
The lawsuit centres on a longstanding relationship between Zoom and RingCentral which has seen RingCentral use Zoom’s technology in its video offering.
RingCentral has since launched its own video offering, RingCentral Video, and claims to be in the process of moving customers away from the Zoom-powered product, known as RingCentral Meetings.
However, Zoom claims that RingCentral is continuing to sell the product despite Zoom trying to terminate the agreement last July, with the intention of then switching these customers over to the non-Zoom product.
The version of the court document that is circulating has been heavily redacted, appearing to omit information that is crucial to Zoom’s claims.
What is clear is that Zoom no longer wants RingCentral to sell the Meetings product and claims the firm is breaching its trademarks and copyright by doing so.
Zoom said in the filing: “RingCentral has embarked upon a campaign of misinformation designed to mislead customers, investors, and the public at large.”
It added that RingCentral is “falsely suggesting instead that RingCentral is transitioning customers to RingCentral Video for illusory quality or feature-based reasons”.
Zoom claims that the transition is for another reason, which hasn’t been divulged to customers. This reason has been redacted from the filing.
“These statements are belied by RingCentral’s insistence on continuing to sell Zoom’s products despite having its own available alternative,” the filing states.
“If RingCentral truly believed its video product was a quality replacement for Zoom’s product, then it would transition all of its customers with no further delay”
“Its failure to do so reveals that RingCentral believes the opposite to be true; Zoom’s products are the best in the market and provide the features RingCentral’s customers desire.”
Zoom added that RingCentral has performed a “classic bait and switch” by “dangling Zoom in front of potential customers to lure them into signing multiyear contracts”, presumably with the intention of them switching them over to the non-Zoom product.
It also quoted what it claimed to be a message from RingCentral to clients, which reveals that the firm will be migrating customers from RingCentral Meetings to RingCentral Video over the course of 2021.
Another component of Zoom’s claim focuses on non-compete clauses in the agreement between the pair which RingCentral has activated, banning Zoom from approaching RingCentral customers. Zoom claims these clauses are anti-competitive and unenforceable.
UC Today has contacted RingCentral for comment. The firm told The Information that it intends to “defend the claims vigorously”.
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