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I believe that FlightPrep has a valid business plan. They have patent in order to prevent commoditization (i.e., giving away things for free) of their market. So they sue all free providers and if there is somebody with real money (like Jeppesen) they understand they cannot go after them.

I think this something each copmany should do when entering a niche market which can be easily commoditized.

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If you are in a market that can easily be commoditized, you need to innovate and provide extra value, not use legal loopholes to stifle innovation and competition.

The World would be a far worse place if [insert any commodity here] was patented and the owner of the patent could sell at a price of their choosing (and licence at a price of their choosing)

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