EasyJet On Receiving End Of Transatlantic Copyright Dispute

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

19 September 2003

The UK High Court's decision to allow a transatlantic copyright infringement dispute between two technology firms over an online booking system created for UK airline, EasyJet to continue has caused consternation in the computer programming world, as well as in the international business arena.

The dispute arises from a (now obsolete) reservations system, known as OpenRes, which was created for Easyjet by software firm, Navitaire, (then known as Open Skies) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture.

EasyJet professed itself dissatisfied with the OpenRes system, alleging that it suffered numerous breakdowns, corrupted data, and incorporated insufficient archive space. In 2001, the airline put in place a new system, developed by Californian firm, BulletProof Technologies, which served its purpose much better, according to EasyJet.

However, in May last year, Navitaire announced that it would be suing the airline and BulletProof, alleging that the latter's eRes system infringed on its copyright.

Although Navitaire initially alleged copying of its source code, it soon became clear that this had not taken place (as the programmes were written in two different coding languages), and so the software firm amended its complaint, arguing that the newer system utilised some of the same commands and database fields as OpenRes, and employed the same 'business logic'.

As a result of the ongoing dispute in the UK courts, BulletProof has taken the step of seeking a declaratory judgement from the Central Division District Court of Utah, to the effect that under US copyright law, no rights have been infringed by its reservation system.

According to reports, EasyJet intends to move in tandem in the United Kingdom, calling for the Navitaire lawsuit to be dismissed.

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