A company called Uniloc is suing X-Plane flight simulation software creator Austin Meyer for patent infringement and Meyer claims the results of the suit — regardless of who wins — may curb his creation of new products. The suit centers around a mobile flight simulation app that Meyer created. Meyer says the threat of similar suits will likely deter him from designing new apps for the android market unless changes come to how patent suits are litigated. He hopes that by fighting the suit he might instigate those changes. Meyer, who spoke with AVweb, Wednesday, recently created the Xavion app for iPad. Xavion is designed for use in certified aircraft and is a less capable version of the VP400, a product he helped design for use in experimental aircraft. The VP400 interfaces with onboard systems and delivers pilots synthetic vision and highway in the sky technology. It may also be capable of landing an aircraft equipped with an autopilot. Meyer says auto-land capability is not the VP400’s intended use but that the feature could prove useful in certain emergency situations. Our conversation with Meyer includes details about X-Plane; Xavion as well as the VP400; and the lawsuit.
