Wireless charging drama continues as both sides told to work things out
An Israeli court judge tells Powermat, a key wireless charging company, and the board members that are suing it to settle their fight out of court.
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Wireless charging is a feature in select smartphones and public spots like Starbucks.
The mission to get wireless charging into your smartphone continues to invoke plenty of legal drama.
Powermat, one of the key companies championing the technology, said that an Israeli judge dismissed a motion filed by three of its board members to block the company from operating. The judge has given the two sides three weeks to try to settle their dispute out of court.
A spokesman for the board members who filed the complaint said the ruling gave them a different sort of encouragement.
"We are delighted with the results of today's ruling which clearly showed that the company was mismanaged and that intervention of an independent source is required in order to put the company back on track," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Powermat noted that Thursday's ruling didn't include an opinion on how the company was managed.
A resolution either way paves the road to get more wireless-charging capabilities in gadgets. The technology, which lets you place your phone or tablet on a tabletop with a compatible charging surface and instantly start getting juice, has been promised for years. So far, it has landed in only a handful of devices and at destinations such as Starbucks shops.
Wireless charging can be found in high-end Samsung smartphones. Apple hasn't embraced the feature for its iPhone.
The legal battle had threatened to be another headache for Powermat CEO Thorsten Heins, who earlier rose to prominence as the head of struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry.
"With this distraction behind us, we look forward to maintaining the exciting momentum of the past year," Powermat said in a statement.
The lawsuit was brought on by three board members, one of which was co-founder and former CEO Ran Poliakine, who volunteered to step down under investor pressure. Two Powermat board members who represented the shareholders lent their support to Heins in the company's statement.
"We categorically rejected the baseless allegations in the nuisance lawsuit brought by Ran Poliakine, a failed and discredited CEO," they said.
In response, Poliakine fired a shot back at the company. "It is unfortunate that we are in this situation because when I founded Powermat it had so much promise," he said in an e-mail. "I still believe the company has all the promise it did then, but only if competent management and appropriate governance put in place."
Update, 12:44 p.m. and 4:44 p.m. PT: To include additional context and comments.