SpaceX has lodged an appeal with Kyiv’s Northern Commercial Court of Appeal after the Kyiv Commercial Court dismissed their initial lawsuit last month. In the lawsuit, SpaceX had demanded early partial termination of the Ukrainian certificate for the Starlink trademark held by Starlink LLC and the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, the Ukrainian Starlink LLC allegedly suffered a DDoS attack. SpaceX has now appealed the decision and is requesting that the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal cancel the previous decision and issue a new one that will satisfy the original claim in full, reports The New Voice of Ukraine.
The appeal will be heard on May 16, and the outcome of the case could have significant implications for the future of Starlink in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military and the general population have relied heavily on Starlink following Russia’s invasion of the country.
This is not the first time SpaceX has faced legal challenges related to its Starlink satellite internet service. In 2020, Amazon’s Project Kuiper accused the company of trying to “smother competition in the cradle” by seeking regulatory approval for a lower orbit for its Starlink satellites. SpaceX has also faced criticism from astronomers concerned about the impact of Starlink satellites on astronomical observations.
