Textron Alleges Chinese Drone Maker DJI Infringed Patents

Cessna maker Textron Inc. alleges that SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest manufacturer of drones, used its technology without permission and demanded a part of its billions of dollars in annual sales.

Drones made by the China-based DJI -- whose founder, Wang Tao, became the first drone billionaire -- infringe five patents developed by Bell Textron for controlling the devices and their attached cameras, according to a patent-infringement complaint filed Monday in federal court in Waco, Texas.

The suit pits two aviation giants against each other, one whose roots reach back to the years following World ...