The drone wars have started: DJI files lawsuit against Yuneec
DJI claimed that Yuneec has infringed on two of its patents involving ‘systems and methods for target tracking’ and an ‘interchangeable mounting platform’.
At CES, Yunnec showed off the US$1,300 Typhoon H, a drone capable of detecting objects and avoiding them in flight. Powered by Intel’s RealSense camera tech, it also has a nifty Watch Me feature that enables the drone to follow the user with its camera pointing at him.
If you think the latter sounds familiar, that’s because DJI’s Phantom 4 drone has this feature, too. Called Active Track, the Phantom 4 is also capable of keeping its camera locked on the subject while following him.
On April 1 (not a joke), DJI has filed a patent lawsuit in California against Yuneec. In it (PDF here), DJI claimed that Yuneec has infringed on two of its patents involving ‘systems and methods for target tracking’ and an ‘interchangeable mounting platform’.
DJI spokesman Adam Lisberg, in a statement to MarketWatch:
DJI welcomes competition, but is committed to protecting its intellectual property. Friday’s filing is a response to safeguard that investment, to protect customers and partners and to promote genuine innovation in this promising area.
For those unaware, the DJI Phantom 4 is already selling in stores, but the Yuneec Typhoon H is only expected to be available later this month. The latter’s availability in the U.S. is now in question as DJI is seeking an injunctive relief to stop further sales of infringing Yuneec products.
Source: MarketWatch.
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