For the country.
As I’ve recently argued, we absolutely can hold Congress and steer the country back from the brink.
And that’s the main thing, by seventeen orders of magnitude.
But a boy’s gotta eat — vegan cheese and burgers ain’t cheap — so I was delighted to see these items on WheelTug and ParkerVision yesterday:
PRKR:
Another Peculiar Anti-Patent Court Decision in ParkerVision v. Qualcomm
. . . In 2013, a jury found that ParkerVision’s patents are not invalid, and that Qualcomm infringed. The jury awarded ParkerVision $173 million in damages. With an ongoing royalty, the potential total damages award was nearly a billion dollars.
Judge Dalton stated on the record that “there is certainly going to be an ongoing royalty” and sent the parties to negotiate the royalty rate so that he could enter his final Order. Several weeks later, Judge Dalton shockingly overturned the jury’s verdict and granted Qualcomm’s summary judgment of non-infringement, thus killing the case . . .
Why did he do that? Odd.
And why, eight years later, would a second judge, in a second case, do something equally odd?
The article concludes:
If ParkerVision cannot enforce its patent rights, neither can anyone else. The innovators, startups, and investors that power American innovation deserve better.
With the stock now barely above a dime again, the whole enterprise is valued at less than $15 million.
Whatever happens on appeal with this big Qualcomm case, there is the not-trivial Intel case before a patent-friendly judge that’s supposed to be coming up in January or February. And there are other potential suits. And there is possibly valuable technology that they’ve developed.
So, as crapshoots go, with money I can afford to lose, how can I resist?
BOREF/WheelTug
Have you heard the news out of Ahmedabad and the Isle of Man?
ADANI GROUP AND WHEELTUG COMPLETE FASTGate FEASIBILITY STUDY
Ahmedabad, India, and Douglas, Isle of Man – June 2022 – WheelTug plc, the electric taxi pioneer, and Adani Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration on a FASTGate (Fast And Safe Turn) project implementation that will focus on improving airside efficiency, increasing automation of airside operations, and decreasing carbon emissions at Indian airports.
In 2020 WheelTug and partner companies ADB Safegate, AERO Group, and IABG launched the FASTGate project. The goal is to design and implement airport gates optimized for WheelTug e-taxi maneuvers, and prepare airports for WheelTug’s entry into service. The group has now finalized the feasibility study at Mumbai International Airport.
The study concludes that FASTGates are feasible at Mumbai International Airport without major initial capital expenditures; at these gates, an additional 2-3 aircraft movements per gate will be possible every day. Higher throughput will not only aid in decreasing congestion, but will also bring operational savings of tens of millions of USD a year, increase safety, and significantly decrease carbon emissions. Non-aviation revenue (passenger fees, shopping, etc.) will also increase.
Adani Airports and WheelTug share a long-term vision of airside operations that are not only faster and more cost-effective, but also safer and greener. The new alliance looks forward to setting new best practices for airports across India and worldwide.
WheelTug has signed letters of intent with IndiGo and SpiceJet, two airlines that currently control 60% of the Indian market. They join two dozen other airlines on five continents that have already secured delivery slot positions for more than 2,000 WheelTug systems.
“We look forward to drawing on the comprehensive experience of the Adani Group to help us optimize the benefits of our system at airports in India and elsewhere,” said WheelTug CEO Isaiah Cox.
About Adani
The Adani Group entered the airports sector in 2019. Operating within the group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEL), Adani Airports now administers Mumbai International, one of the world’s busiest airports, and six more of India’s top airports – Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram.
About WheelTug plc
WheelTug plc is developing the WheelTug® aircraft electric drive system. More than 25 airlines representing 2000+ aircraft have reserved slots for WheelTug systems.
I know, I know. And maybe the answer is: “never.”
But BOREF, which owns more than half of WheelTug, is currently valued at less than $25 million. Nothing. It remains my longest-running speculation.
The hearings start tomorrow!
