Pratt & Whitney says it will appeal against a US court ruling that clears the way for engine repair supplier Chromalloy Gas Turbine to provide airlines with P&W-approved repairs of components of PW2000, PW4000 and International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans.
"We don't agree with the judgement and we will appeal," says P&W, which plans to file the appeal in the Federal Court System. "We still believe that Chromalloy has [done], and continues to violate its licence agreement with Pratt & Whitney. We believe it is using proprietary technology outside the agreement and we intend to protect that," the company states.
The long-running dispute centres around the use of a sophisticated blade-coating process which P&W considers to be proprietary, and also over the alleged restriction by the powerplant manufacturer on repairs of older-generation engines in its range.
The court ordered P&W parent company United Technologies (UTC) to "-fulfil its obligations under the February 4, 1985 Repair Process Agreement with Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation" to provide it with data and parts required to develop and perform P&W-approved repairs for the newest engine models.
Commenting on the ruling, Chromalloy chairman Dr Martin Weinstein says: "This decision does more than validate our contract rights. It ensures that the commercial airlines using Pratt & Whitney engines will have a powerful independent source for Pratt-approved and FAA [US Federal Aviation Administration]-approved component repairs."
The court held that UTC had violated the agreement by failing to notify Chromalloy of the more favourable licensing terms, including lower royalty rates, that P&W had negotiated with other component repair suppliers, and that the company should give Chromalloy the chance to accept the same terms.
Source: Flight International
