DJI Wins Partial Appeal in Chinese Military Company Designation Case
On Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a partial reversal of a lower court's decision regarding DJI's lawsuit against the Department of Defense (DoD), sending the case back for additional examination. The court maintained that DJI benefits from support from the Chinese government, citing its status as a "National Enterprise Technology Center" (NETC) granted by China's National Development and Reform Commission. However, it dismissed DJI's allegations of constitutional breaches and claims of selective enforcement, while overturning the "contribution" assessment due to the DoD's redacted justification. A representative from DJI expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating that the court's conclusion about the lack of public evidence is a move towards rectifying the company's designation.
Key facts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit partially reversed a lower court ruling in DJI's lawsuit over its Chinese Military Company designation.
- The case has been remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
- The appeals court upheld the Government Assistance finding, based on DJI's NETC status from China's National Development and Reform Commission.
- DJI's claims of due process violation and selective enforcement were rejected.
- The court reversed the 'contribution' finding because the DoD redacted its rationale in the unclassified record.
- The lower court will now evaluate whether the DoD's classified rationale supports the contribution finding.
- DJI spokesperson welcomed the decision as a significant step toward correcting an unjustified designation.
- The full ruling can be downloaded from the source.
Entities
Institutions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Department of Defense (DoD)
- DJI
- National Development and Reform Commission
- Nokia Bell
- Volkswagen
- Nissan
Locations
- United States
- China