Bell infringed Eurocopter landing gear patent, Canadian court rules

The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that Bell Helicopter infringed landing gear design patents developed by Eurocopter, it has emerged.

The ruling, issued on 30 January in Montreal, awarded punitive damages and an injunction to the European manufacturer after Bell was ruled to have copied the landing gear design used on both the EC120 and EC130 light helicopters and preceded to use it on the Model 429, although Bell did not go on to use the landing gear design on production aircraft.

The court determined that Bell went to the lengths of leasing an EC120, studying the design of its landing gear, before creating a 'slavish copy'.

According to a statement by Eurocopter, based on the court hearings, when Bell employees raised concerns internally regarding similarities between the Bell landing gear and Eurocopter's patented design, Bell's management instructed engineers simply to 'carry on'.

Bell, however, claimed its own victory, noting that the court found 15 of the 16 claims of Eurocopter’s Canadian patent invalid, the court only finding for the claim against the skid gear infringements.

'While we respect the court’s opinion, based on prior art, we believe that the patent should never have been granted for the sleigh gear design. We are considering an appeal on the findings of both validity and infringement,' said John Garrison, CEO of Bell Helicopter.

The court said: 'Bell has misled and continues to mislead the public into believing that the Bell Model 429 is the first helicopter to use a sleigh type landing gear.'

The court has not yet determined the amount of damages due to Eurocopter while the injunction prevents Bell from manufacturing, using, or selling the infringing landing gear. It also orders Bell to destroy all infringing landing gears in its possession.


Eurocopter said that as soon as it filed the case, Bell quickly re-designed the landing gear on the 429 model.

The Canadian court held that the redesigned landing gear did not infringe Eurocopter's Canadian patent.

Now Eurocopter says it is evaluating its options in this regard and has filed claims in Washington DC and in Paris, contending that Bell's redesigned landing gear violates Eurocopter's patents.

'We intend to continue to vigorously defend the production gear in the pending infringement suits in the US and France,' said Garrison

'We believe the Canadian court’s decision provides strong support for our position and remain optimistic that we will obtain positive results in those courts.'

The case began in May 2008, but came to light during the Paris Airshow in 2009 when a bailiff visited the Bell chalet at the show demanding documentation on the Model 429 helicopter.


Source: By Tony Osborne in London, 31 January 2012 - Rotorhub News (www.shephardmedia.com)

Photo: Bell Model 429 Helicopters (Photo by Shephard Group)

(31.01.2012)