Netgear has filed a lawsuit alleging that TP-Link's rebranding as an 'American company' constitutes false advertising.
Netgear, a company that sells router products, has been engaged in multiple legal battles with its competitor TP-Link. Now, Netgear has filed a new lawsuit alleging that TP-Link's claim that it 'separated from China and became independent in the United States' is false.
Netgear countersues TP-Link, saying firm 'remains, at its core, a Chinese company selling Chinese-made products' — alleges its 'American company' rebrand is false advertising | Tom's Hardware
Netgear: Don't Be Fooled, TP-Link Is a Chinese Company | PCMag
https://www.pcmag.com/news/netgear-dont-be-fooled-tp-link-is-a-chinese-company
The dispute between Netgear and TP-Link began with a patent infringement lawsuit in 2023. At that time, Netgear filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission alleging that TP-Link products infringed some of Netgear's patents. Several of its claims were accepted, and a settlement was reached between the two companies. TP-Link paid $135 million (approximately 21.6 billion yen) as a settlement.
However, in 2024, TP-Link sued Netgear. TP-Link claimed that Netgear spread false information claiming that the company was under the control of the Chinese government. They added that in the previous settlement, Netgear had agreed to cease defamation, insult, and false claims against competitors, and that Netgear had deliberately broken this agreement.
The predecessor company of TP-Link, founded in China in 1996, is now divided into two distinct businesses: TP-Link Technologies, based in Shenzhen, China, and TP-Link Systems, based in the United States. TP-Link Systems became an independent global business in 2024 and claims to be an 'American company with no ties whatsoever to the Chinese government.'
In 2026, Netgear filed a new lawsuit in response to a 2024 lawsuit filed by TP-Link. Netgear argued that 'TP-Link was indeed re-registered as an American company, but this was a fraudulent act to conceal its ongoing research and development and manufacturing activities in China,' and continued that it would 'hold TP-Link accountable for deceiving the American people.'
Netgear points out that 'TP-Link will employ more than 13,000 people in China in 2024, with about 9,000 of them working at its manufacturing facilities in China, while only about 350 employees are in the United States.' Furthermore, Netgear countered TP-Link's claim that 'it manufactures network products for the US market at its own factory in Vietnam' by
TP-Link denied allegations that it is a Chinese spy company and submitted documents stating that 'Netgear's claims are inaccurate and distort the facts.'
Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Defense has acknowledged (in a PDF file) that TP-Link Technologies has 'direct ties to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).'
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