Whiff of anti-China sentiment in patent case against drone firm

A federal jury in Waco, Texas, ruled last month that DJI, a Chinese drone manufacturer, should compensate Textron $279 million for violating two patents of the US-based company.

The two patents include the "remote tracking control technology" filed by Textron in 2004 and granted in 2011, and the "automatic aircraft hover control technology" it applied for in 2011 and got approval for in 2015.

Reportedly, Textron contacted DJI in 2019 intending to sell its relevant patents, but DJI believed that it had long conducted its own research and development in these technologies. In 2021, Textron sued DJI in the United States, seeking $367 million in damages.