Wragge & Co advises on airline patent case

LAW firm Wragge & Co has secured a winning judgment for US airline carrier Delta Air Lines Inc in a high-profile patent case against rival Virgin Atlantic.

Virgin brought the case against Delta for patent infringement relating to the flat-bed seats in its premium cabins, supplied by manufacturer Contour, part of the Premium Aircraft Interiors Group.

The action followed an earlier lawsuit between Virgin Atlantic and Contour over its Solar Eclipse seating design.

Although Virgin appeared to have won this case in the Court of Appeal, the European Patent Office subsequently caused the patent to be radically amended, deleting all the claims Contour were thought to have infringed.

In this latest action Mr Justice Arnold gave summary judgment in favour of Delta, finding Virgin had no prospect of establishing infringement of the patent in its amended form.

The main implication of the ruling is that Contour’s manufacture of the seats is not an act of infringement and Delta is free to continue purchasing the Solar Eclipse seats from Cwmbran manufacturer Contour.

Wragge’s Intellectual Property team, headed by Gordon Harris, acted for Delta during the hearing, having also previously advised Contour/Premium. Associates Jennifer Sunderland and Emma Carr, alongside solicitor Olivia Harris also supported.

The Wragge team also worked closely with Mark Vanhegan QC and Brian Nicholson of 11 South Square, as well as the Delta legal team in Atlanta. DLA Piper UK advised Virgin Atlantic.

Mr Harris said: “The area of patents and UK unregistered design rights is highly complex and this was a challenging case covering alleged infringement of a patent across multiple territories.

“Our IP team was well-placed to respond with first-rate credentials and a strong understanding of the background to the case. The ruling is the latest step in a hard-fought battle with Virgin Atlantic and is a great result for our client.”