Information: Honeywell vs Sandel Avionics

From aopa.org 12/15/2008 - click to bring up full press release.

Fish & Richardson P.C.
Fish Wins Jury Trial Victory for Sandel

December 9, 2008 - AIN News Online
Honeywell Loses TAWS Patent Case Against Sandel

December 8, 2008 - Sandel Avionics Wins Patent Infringement Case Against Honeywell International
Sandel Avionics had its third and final win in its appearance in Delaware Federal Court, responding to allegations of patent infringement by Honeywell International concerning aircraft terrain warning systems. The weeklong trial concluded December 5, 2008 when a jury ruled in favor of Sandel.

Gerry Block, President and CEO of Sandel Avionics, had the following statement: “Sandel has paid a great price with respect to these repeated, baseless lawsuits by Honeywell, who has been trying to preclude legitimate competition over aircraft terrain warning systems. It took a jury only 5 hours of deliberation to dispose of 6½ years of relentless litigation by Honeywell against Sandel. Sandel is now free to continue to manufacture, sell, license, and improve its superior TAWS technology without interference by Honeywell. My thanks go out to our customers, employees and ever-patient Board of Directors for their support through this ordeal, and to our great legal team at Fish and Richardson for their fine legal work on our behalf.”

December 8, 2004 - Sandel Prevails In Sixth Patent Infringement Defense Against Honeywell
Sandel Avionics prevailed again, this time in a jury verdict, in its defense against yet another Honeywell patent infringement lawsuit, as the larger company continued its efforts to halt the success of the popular Sandel ST3400 TAWS/RMI system. The latest Honeywell patent in question, filed in 1987, was entitled "GPWS without Landing Flaps Input." Honeywell had attempted to add this patent to a prior case in 2003 where it sued Sandel-and lost-for infringing on five other patents concerning EGPWS. Sandel prevailed in the prior case with five summary judgments by the Delaware court.

This sixth patent issue was instead tried in Delaware this month, with the jury taking less than two hours to reach the 'not guilty' verdict in Sandel's favor. Ironically, Sandel's ST3400 TAWS does in fact use landing flaps input.

"We are pleased with the outcome of the trail and believe that this is a victory not only for Sandel but aircraft owners and operators who need access to scalable safety solutions," said Gerald Block, president and founder of Sandel Avionics. "This victory comes at a good time, and with the mandate date fast approaching and sales of the ST3400 soaring, we're going full speed ahead," remarked Block.

A 3-ATI sized unit that incorporates a TAWS computer and a full-color display, the ST3400 meets TSO C151b for both Class A and Class B requirements. The ST3400 serves as a drop-in replacement for conventional RMI units, displaying terrain maps, topographic maps, navigation waypoint maps and TCAS data. The base ST3400 has a list price of $34,500 in Class A configuration and $20,950 in Class B configuration.

October 30, 2003 - Sandel Wins Summary Judgment Against Honeywell In TAWS Lawsuit
In a summary judgment, the United States District Court in Delaware has ruled that Sandel does not infringe on any of Honeywell's Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS) patents, ending more than 17 months of legal action by Honeywell. Two weeks ago, the same court ruled that more than 20 of Honeywell's other claims relating to the display elements of the same patents were invalid.

Together, the rulings confirm that Sandel is not subject to liability for infringement and faces no risk of damages or injunction due to Honeywell's action. Commenting on the decision rendered by Judge Mary Pat Thynge, Sandel CEO Gerry Block said, "This is absolutely a huge win. My firm belief has always been that Sandel's independently developed technology was unique and innovative, and did not infringe any of Honeywell's patents. This ruling confirms that, and also ensures that aviation customers will have the choice of a better way to display terrain and safety data."

In a reversal of roles, Sandel is now taking Honeywell to trial on the issue of whether Honeywell's remaining patents are actually valid. In addition, Sandel expects to seek an award of attorney's fees from the U.S. District Court based on Honeywell's action, as well as on its misconduct in continuing to press claims that it knew to be without merit.

Honeywell Inc. and Honeywell Intellectual Properties Inc., Honeywell's patent holding company, had alleged that Sandel Avionics Inc. and several other companies infringed Honeywell's patents relating to its Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS), Honeywell's version of TAWS. Honeywell filed the case in May 2002, just days after Sandel announced the FAA certification of its ST3400 Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS).

The FAA had earlier issued a mandate requiring most turbine aircraft to install an FAA-certified TAWS by 2005. Honeywell, which had assisted the FAA in preparing the TAWS regulations, subsequently sued a number of other TAWS manufacturers, claiming it held five patents that effectively precluded competition in the TAWS market.

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