CoKinetic Systems, Corp. files Monopolization Claim Against Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Seeks Damages In Excess of $100 Million
Harrison, NY (PRWEB) March 02, 2017 -- CoKinetic Systems Corporation, a globally recognized leader in the in-flight entertainment (IFE) market, announced that it has filed suit against Panasonic Avionics Corporation, seeking damages in excess of $100 million. CoKinetic alleges in its complaint, which was filed on March 1, 2017 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case 1:17-cv-01527, that Panasonic has willfully violated open source licensing requirements, breached contractual obligations to CoKinetic, abused FAA regulatory processes, conducted corporate espionage, defamed CoKinetic and sabotaged its products, degraded airline IFE systems to interfere with customer relationships, purportedly paid commercial bribes, and otherwise employed unlawful means to monopolize the market for in-flight entertainment software and media services used by airlines to offer airline passengers customized entertainment amenities, such as movies, games, food ordering, shopping and other interactive services on Panasonic’s IFE hardware systems.
In its lawsuit, CoKinetic alleges an array of anticompetitive acts engineered by Panasonic to force CoKinetic from the market, including:
• Allegedly degrading and damaging IFE hardware systems owned by Panasonic’s own airline customers, including Emirates Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Virgin America, United Airlines and others, in order to create the appearance that only Panasonic is able to provide reliable software and media services on Panasonic IFE hardware;
• Allegedly entering into an exclusive license agreement to use CoKinetic’s “AirPlay” technology after CoKinetic successfully entered the market with Virgin America; only to engage in a concerted campaign to disparage and sabotage the performance of CoKinetic’s software products;
• Allegedly secretly wiring a listening device to spy on CoKinetic and eavesdropping on the company’s business meetings, as well as private discussions with airline employees;
• Allegedly making illicit payments and otherwise providing expensive gifts, excursions and entertainment to influence airline employees, interfere with relationships between the airline and CoKinetic and induce airlines to discontinue using CoKinetic’s software;
• Allegedly blocking competitors from having the ability to develop software for Panasonic’s IFE Hardware by refusing to distribute the source code for its open-source Linux based operating system, which controls the basic functions of Panasonic IFE hardware systems, in willful violation of Version 2 of the GNU General Public License, exposing Panasonic as a willful infringer of the copyrights of thousands of software developers that have contributed to Linux.
“As a primary source of innovation in IFE software, CoKinetic has worked every day on behalf of airlines and their passengers to open the in-flight entertainment market to free and fair competition. This lawsuit is an unfortunate but necessary step towards accomplishing that goal,” says Todd A. Higgins, Esq. of Crosby & Higgins LLP.
For more information, visit http://www.cokinetic.com.
About CoKinetic
CoKinetic is globally recognized as a major source of innovation in in-flight entertainment (IFE) software and services. The company's AirPlay IFE platform has been powering award-winning IFE systems since 2007. CoKinetic is based in Harrison, NY, with offices in Lake Forest, CA and Bengaluru, India. For more information, visit http://www.cokinetic.com.
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Shin-Jung Hong, Nicholas & Lence Communications, http://www.nicholaslence.com, +1 (212) 9380005, [email protected]
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