DJI has launched a legal offensive against rival Insta360, with the former accusing the latter and its parent company Arashi Vision of infringing on six critical patents that cover essential areas including drone flight control, image processing, and hardware design. The case was filed in the Shenzen Intermediate People’s Court, leveraging local jurisdiction since both firms operate there.
DJI’s Claims
For this case, DJI argues that six patents held by Insta360 rightfully belong to them. This stems from former DJI employees who joined Insta360 within one year of departure. That’s because under Chinese patent law, innovations developed in that period, more importantly if tied to prior work at DJI, may revert ownership to the original employer.
Insta360’s Response
Insta360 founder JK Liu swiftly countered on social media. He rejects DJI’s ownership claims outright and states that a thorough review confirms that all ideas originated independently at Insta360. In the area of flight control, the sole relevant patent enables a one-button FPV-style building dive maneuver.
Here’s the translated response, provided by Insta360.
“DJI claims that any patents generated by employees within one year of leaving DJI should belong to DJI. We carefully reviewed the patents applied for by these employees during that period. The evidence shows that all ideas and innovations were independently created at Insta360,” Liu writes. “Regarding the area of most interest — flight control — the only potentially relevant patent is one that lets users achieve an FPV-style ‘building dive’ with one button press. This was my idea, and I was deeply involved in refining and approving it. Under current flight restrictions, this patent isn’t very useful, so the feature wasn’t implemented. If DJI wanted this patent, they could’ve just asked for it.”
Liu personally conceived and refined this feature, though flight restrictions prevented implementation. He quips that DJI could have requested it directly.
Addressing accusations of hiding inventors, Liu calls it standard industry practice to shield rosters from poaching. Many disputed patents, filed over four years ago, remain unused due to roadmap shifts.
“Most of the drone-related patent applications involved in this matter were filed 4+ years ago. Since then, our product roadmap has changed significantly, and many patents have never been used.”
Counteraccusations
Liu flips the narrative, alleging DJI infringes on 28 of Insta360’s patents that range from hardware structures, software methods, control systems, and accessories. The media has also highlighted similarities in DJI’s 360 cameras and action cams to Insta360 designs. Despite this, Insta360 refrained from suing, saying that they prioritize innovation over litigation as a resource-limited challenger.
“We understand why GoPro and DJI sued us — established players hate losing market share. At the same time, many functions and accessories from DJI’s 360 camera and action cameras have been called out in the media as ‘copied’ or ‘strikingly similar’ to Insta360’s. Last year, our team found that DJI’s products could fall within the scope of 28 Insta360 patents — 11 of our hardware/structure patents, 8 software-method patents, 6 control-method patents, and 3 accessory patents. But we didn’t sue them.” – Liu
The company views such disputes as commonplace. Liu emphasizes respect for IP alongside facts and legal processes. Insta360 plans seven to eight new product launches this year which will include gimbal cameras, microphones, and drones. Litigation serves as a last resort as they aim to grow the market collaboratively.
“The bottom line is we respect intellectual property, but we also respect facts, legal procedures, and rulings. We are not afraid of patent lawsuits. We refuse to fight over the same pie; we prefer to expand the market through continuous innovation and earn our place. Litigation is only used as a last resort.” – Liu
Arashi Vision’s stock plunged nearly seven points after this announcement.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What patents is DJI accusing Insta360 of infringing?
A: Six patents related to drone flight control, image processing, and hardware design.
Q: Where was the lawsuit filed?
A: Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, home base for both companies.
Q: How does Insta360 respond to DJI’s employee patent ownership claim?
A: All innovations were independently created at Insta360, per their review.
Q: What counterclaim does Insta360 make against DJI?
A: DJI products infringe 28 Insta360 patents across hardware, software, and accessories.
Q: What new products is Insta360 planning despite the lawsuit?
A: Seven or eight launches, including gimbal cameras, microphones, and a drone.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
