Drone Wars: DJI just filed a lawsuit against Yuneec for patent infringement

By Albert Khoury Published April 2, 2016

Leading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Chinese manufacturer DJI is headed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California to seek damages from one of its largest competitors. According to a press release, DJI filed a patent infringement lawsuit against both Yuneec International Co. Ltd. and Yuneec USA, Inc. .

“The complaint asserts that Yuneec’s products and technology infringe two DJI patents and seeks injunctive relief to halt the further sale of the infringing Yuneec products and systems,” reads the statement.

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The complaint specifically cites patent numbers 9,164,506, titled “Systems and methods for target tracking” and 9,280,038, titled “Interchangeable Mounting Platform.” The company reiterates its expenditure of time and resources over the years to develop its products. It calls its describes its technology as “fundamental to the future of UAV and related industrial applications.”

DJI concedes that it welcomes the competition, but also must protect its intellectual property. The filing is intended to extend that protection to its customers and partners as well as to promote innovation all around.

Digital Trends recently reviewed the Phantom 4 drone, and we were impressed with its accident avoidance, maneuverability, and quality of video capture. Though Yuneec did have sense and avoid tech available for demonstration at CES with its Typhoon H, DJI was the first to put a functioning unit into production. Yuneec partnered with investor Intel to utilize its RealSense technology for its crash-avoidance features. There has been no news of a release date for the Typhoon H.

DJI holds hundreds of patents worldwide, including at over 30 in the U.S., with another 50 pending. The drone manufacturer is represented by the Silicon Valley law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

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