On June 19, 2018 Garmin International Inc. and Garmin USA Inc. sued uAvionix for patent infringement. Garmin alleges the uAvionix echoUAT and skyBeacon’s method of obtaining an installed transponder’s Mode 3/A code and altitude infringes their U.S. Patent No. 8,102,301 (“the 301 Patent”).
We do not infringe the 301 Patent. uAvionix has our own patent-pending method for using Mode 3/A and altitude information that differs from the method in the 301 Patent. We invite you to see for yourself.
Ultimately the court and industry will decide whether we are innovators or infringers.
We are disappointed and frustrated we have to go through the expense, distraction, and effort of defending ourselves, but also recognize that disruptive products often attract unwanted attention from incumbents.
We won’t be able to comment on the proceedings, and it will likely take some time to resolve. We just want the world to know that we take Intellectual Property rights seriously. We are innovators with integrity, and we are defending that integrity. As pilots, we will fight hard and stand our ground to deliver groundbreaking and innovative products to this market.
We also want to make a clear statement that this suit in no way impacts our ability to certify and ship any of our products – including skyBeacon and tailBeacon.
Thank you for your support and confidence.
The uAvionix Team
P.S. Our legal team deleted our usual levity from this statement.