In-flight communications specialist Gogo Business Aviation wins on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, upholding an earlier ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and securing a preliminary injunction against Gogo Business by SmartSky Networks The petition was dismissed. Airlines have blocked sales of Gogo 5G products.
The dispute centers on claims of patent infringement by SmartSky, and SmartSky continues to maintain that its claims remain valid, commenting as follows: stage of the incident. ”
SmartSky continues to expect that its patent claims will be fully proven as the litigation progresses, and that the outcome of the trial, scheduled for April 2025, will secure a permanent injunction and substantial damages. He said he was looking forward to it.
The Delaware court found that SmartSky had not established that it was likely to succeed on its claims and would likely suffer irreparable harm if it was not granted a preliminary injunction. Certified. The reviewing court, the Federal Circuit, upheld that decision.
“The district court found, and we agree, that SmartSky failed to demonstrate that it was likely to succeed based on its claims,” said Gogo CEO Oakley Thorne. “We continue to vigorously defend Gogo against SmartSky’s claims of patent infringement. We remain steadfast in our belief that we do not infringe the patents at issue, and ultimately We remain focused on successfully launching Gogo 5G and delivering improved performance to our business aviation customers in 2024 and beyond.”
By way of background, SmartSky announced in July 2022 that its inflight internet network, based on breakthrough patented technology, is now available nationwide, significantly surpassing any other air-to-ground solution previously or currently available in North America. did. In contrast, Gogo has announced at least four of his upgrade plans to 3G-based technology since 2008.
“After SmartSky failed to comply with these, as alleged in the complaint, GoGo abruptly announced in 2016 that it would change course and instead offer products substantially similar to SmartSky’s air-to-ground products. SmartSky chose to market and sell Gogo’s 5G terrestrial network. Even if, as the Court of Appeals pointed out, the Gogo 5G network was still inactive, the jury found that Gogo’s conduct was clear and manifestly intentional. “We believe that you agree that this is an infringement of the Internet,” SmartSky claims.
