DJI drones may no longer be allowed to enter the US after court ruling in patent case

Autel Robotics, a US-owned Chinese-owned company, appears to have won a patent lawsuit. A US judge claims that DJI has infringed with its drones and recommends an import ban for several DJI drones.

US law firm Steptoe, which has provided legal assistance to Autel in the case, calls it a “significant victory” for Autel after the Supreme Administrative Court of the US International Trade Commission has ruled that DJI has violated US law. It concerns the Tariff Act of 1930, which according to the judge DJI violates by selling and importing drones, while DJI infringes a certain patent of Autel. Autel is a small drone manufacturer.

Based on this, the judge recommended that at least the Mavic Pro, Mavic Pro Platinum, Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic Air, and the Spark should no longer be imported into the US. The judge has also issued a cease-and-desist order to prevent DJI from selling these products if they are already present in the US.

The judge’s verdict has yet to be ratified by the full committee of the ITC. If that happens, the said drones could disappear from the US market as early as July. Autel has another petition running to extend the ruling to other DJI drones, such as the Phantom 4 and the drones from the Inspire series. Should the verdict be upheld, DJI will have little choice but to enter into an agreement with Autel or modify the design of its drones.

The conscious patent called ‘Compact unmanned rotary aircraft’ concerns the way in which the propellers are attached and secured to the engines. The patent also describes the use of folding arms to lift a drone off the ground.