Eurocopter v Bell Overview

Eurocopter v Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limitée 2012 FC 113 Martineau J

Eurocopter v Bell is a familiar case name from numerous visits to the Federal Court on discovery matters, but now the infringement decision itself is available. It has not yet now been posted to the Federal Court website, but Alan Macek has made it available through his IPPractice site. Eurocopter’s patent in question, 2207787, relates to sled-type helicopter landing gear which was known as “Moustache” gear. Matineau J held that one claim was valid and infringed by Bell’s prototype “Legacy” landing gear, but no valid claims were infringed by Bell’s current “Production” gear. The most interesting legal aspect of the decision is that Martineau J held that Eurocopter as the successful patentee was entitled to punitive damages, which is extremely unusual in Canadian patent law. I will deal with that issue in a separate post. This post will provide a synopsis of the remainder of the decision.