Zoom and RingCentral have brought their legal battle to an end via a settlement agreement.
The two firms released a joint statement this morning revealing they have dropped all complaints against each other, bringing an end to a dispute that lasted the best part of 12 months.
The agreement will see Zoom support customers using RingCentral Meetings (RCM) powered by Zoom’s platform, while RingCentral transitions them to its own platform, RingCentral Video (RCV).
No more terms of the agreements are being made public.
John Marlow, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at RingCentral, said: “Today’s agreement with Zoom removes any uncertainty in the ability of RingCentral’s existing customers to migrate to RingCentral Video in an orderly manner, and in a time frame that is customer-driven.
“During the transition period, RingCentral Meetings customers will be fully supported, including receiving new core features and updates.”
Jeff True, General Counsel at Zoom, said: “We are pleased to have resolved this matter in a way that allows the parties to continue the wind-down of their partnership.”
Timeline
- 15 March 2021: Zoom reveals it’s suing RingCentral
- 18 March 2021: RingCentral granted restraining order against Zoom
- 30 March 2021: RingCentral’s restraining order reversed; Zoom shuts out RCM customers
- 11 August 2021: Both vendors layout their arguments; trial appears imminent
- 18 October 2021: RingCentral loses appeal
- 21 February 2022: Zoom and RingCentral announce private settlement, ending court battle
The winding down of this partnership formed the central component of the dispute.
RingCentral has white labelled Zoom’s technology for its video offering, RCM, since 2013.
However, the firm launched its own video offering in 2020, RCV, along with plans to migrate its customers to the new platform.
The partnership then entered a contractual sunset period, but the two vendors differed on how the contract should be interpreted. RingCentral believed they could sell RCM during this period, which Zoom disputed.
Zoom then took steps to block access to RCM for any customers that purchased it after 1 February – a move that the US courts eventually supported.
In short, we honour our customer and partner commitments – clearly, this is not the Zoom way” – part of a RingCentral statement sent to UC Today in August 2021
The private nature of the settlement means that the outcome of the mini battles making up the dispute will not be made public.
Zoom had accused RingCentral of leveraging its strong brand and reputation by roping customers in with the RCM platform and then converting them to RCV.
Meanwhile, RingCentral accused Zoom of abandoning its duty to support users on the RCM platform through the lifetime of contracts.
“If RingCentral truly believes in their own technology, they should use it” – extract from a Zoom statement sent to UC Today in August 2021
Zoom also questioned why it was not allowed to tempt customers from RCM to the Zoom platform, claiming that the non-compete clauses in the agreement are too broad and therefore invalid.
The dispute has looked set to go in front of a judge this year, with the debate on whether Zoom has to support RCM customers for the length of the customer’s contract with RingCentral looking to be the stand-out tussle.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/NFT5iIM
0 Comments