We’re still more than a year away from Gogo and SmartSky stepping into a courtroom to have their patent infringement lawsuit heard, but a ruling this week may render some hints as to which direction the winds are blowing. The two parties have been battling for more than 18 months about exactly what various terms in the disputed patents mean.
Earlier this month a Markman, or “claim construction” hearing was held to settle those definitions. In a filing today the Court finalized the definitions, and at least one appears to be leaning heavily in SmartSky’s favor, after multiple prior rulings to the contrary.
The interpretations of these pivotal terms in the patents clearly support SmartSky’s novel and unique inventions, confirming our position that Gogo 5G is infringing.
– David Helfgott, CEO of SmartSky
In its October 2022 appeal of Gogo’s Preliminary Injunction win, SmartSky pressed the court to reconsider its interpretation of what, precisely, a “communication link continuous and uninterrupted in time” really is. Earlier this year Gogo prevailed again on that claim, defeating SmartSky’s efforts to secure an injunction against sale of the Gogo 5G solution. Both of those rulings included an interpretation of the data link that required a soft handoff, or “make before break” link. The judge hearing the full case, however, disagrees. Moving forward, hard handoffs will be considered “uninterrupted” for the purposes of the litigation.
The parties also disputed the definition of the wedge shaped radiation pattern for the signals as transmitted from the base station radios. On that front the Court also sided with SmartSky’s interpretation of the terms.
Speaking to the ruling, Gogo’s Dave Mellin note’s the company’s position is unchanged, “Nothing about the Markman ruling changes Gogo’s position—Gogo denies infringement and believes SmartSky’s patents are invalid. Gogo will continue to defend itself vigorously against SmartSky’s allegations, and pursue its offensive patent claims against SmartSky.”
There’s more to the story… Dig deeper with a PaxEx.Aero Premium Subscription
A request to Gogo for comment remains pending as of publication time.
More Gogo/SmartSky drama:
- Gogo evades 5G injunction in SmartSky suit
- A make or break situation for SmartSky, Gogo in patent showdown
- BlackRock boosts SmartSky stake
- Gogo’s 5G chips move to manufacturing
- Gogo completes 5G tower deployment
- SmartSky boosts patent claims against Gogo
- Gogo prevails over SmartSky again in preliminary injunction hearing
A favor to ask while you're here...
Did you enjoy the content? Or learn something useful? Or generally just think this is the type of story you'd like to see more of? Consider supporting the site through a donation (any amount helps). It helps keep me independent and avoiding the credit card schlock.
Leave a Reply