Gogo has, once again, avoided a preliminary injunction prohibiting it from selling its next generation inflight connectivity solution. The Appellate Court ruling upholds the September 2022 findings of the District Court, suggesting that SmartSky will not suffer irreparable harm should Gogo be permitted to sell its Gogo 5G solution, which is accused of infringing on SmartSky’s patents.
The ruling does not specifically touch on whether SmartSky is likely to prevail in the full hearing, scheduled for April 2025. In a statement SmartSky “reaffirms the merits of its patent infringement case against Gogo Business Aviation originally filed in February of 2022. The appellate decision was based solely on the issue of irreparable harm and did not address any of SmartSky’s patent infringement claims at this preliminary stage of the case.”
Gogo CEO Oakleigh Thorne issued a statement on the ruling, reading in part:
We will continue to vigorously defend Gogo against SmartSky’s meritless patent infringement claims. We remain steadfast in our belief that we do not infringe upon the patents in question and expect to ultimately prevail. We remain focused on successfully launching Gogo 5G and delivering improved performance for our business aviation customers in 2024 and beyond.
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The ruling is a setback for SmartSky, but not the end of the road. The company will continue to pursue its case, with the full trial set for April 2025.
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
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