When Yuneec unveiled its Typhoon H drones at CES earlier this year, we called it the first major contender for DJI's crown. Now DJI, the world's most successful consumer drone maker, has filed a lawsuit in California claiming Yuneec has infringed on two of its patents. The claim centers on "systems and methods for target tracking," and an "interchangeable mounting platform." DJI is asking the court for injunctive relief to halt the further sale of the infringing Yuneec products and systems. DJI is being represented by the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.

DJI recently released its Phantom 4 drone, the first consumer drone with robust sense and avoid technology onboard. Yuneec was the first to show off this kind of technology, demonstrating a unit at CES this year, but has not yet made that drone available for sale. Intel is a major investor in Yuneec and partnered with it to develop sense and avoid technology that relies on Intel's RealSense camera.

The case marks the first major legal battle in the consumer drone world. Like the smartphone market before it, however, this will likely be just the first skirmish in a long and protracted war.

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