Caterpillar flies to Teterboro the week of a patent countersuit escalation

Caterpillar’s Bombardier Global 6000, tail N797CT, flew from Perot Field in Fort Worth, Texas, to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on June 9, a trip of just over three hours. The aircraft, part of Caterpillar’s four-jet fleet, typically serves the company’s global executive travel, including regular runs to Washington, Chicago, Houston, London, Brisbane, and Saudi Arabia.

The same week the jet landed in the New York metro area, Caterpillar escalated its patent dispute with Doosan Bobcat. On May 26, Caterpillar filed an amended counterclaim with the International Trade Commission, alleging Doosan Bobcat is violating Caterpillar patents and illegally importing equipment, per Engineering News-Record. The case, which began with Doosan Bobcat suing Caterpillar in December over compact-equipment patents, now includes claims under Section 337 of the Tariff Act. The ITC filing seeks to halt importation of the allegedly infringing equipment.

The trip to Teterboro follows a pattern of recent flights from Texas to the Northeast. On May 21, N797CT flew from Washington Dulles to Fort Worth, and on May 19 it flew from Peoria to Dulles. The New York area is a hub for corporate legal and financial meetings, and the timing aligns with the company’s active patent litigation, which also involves a prior case, Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc., that resulted in a $12.9 million jury award against Caterpillar.