A US agency has launched an investigation springing from an ongoing patent dispute between Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce waged over turbine blades for commercial jet engines.
Both companies must sumbit responses to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) within 20 days of the 7 December notice launching the investigation.
The ITC entered the dispute after P&W accused partner and rival Rolls of copying swept turbine blade technology for the Trent 1000.
If the ITC judge agrees with the P&W accusation, the agency can ban Boeing from importing the Trent 1000 to power the 787.
Rolls, however, originally sued P&W in August of violating patent rights on two engines -- the PW1000G geared turbofan (GTF) and the GP7200, a collboration between P&W and General Electric that competes with the Rolls Trent 900.
P&W filed a counter-suit in September alleging that Rolls' claim on the patent is invalid and unenforceable.
The ITC investigation is not considering Rolls' accusations against P&W.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
