Bell Accused Of Patent Theft

Is the French government trying to give Eurocopter an advantage over their main rival, America's Bell Helicopter, by interfering with Bell's ability to do business during the prestigious Paris Air Show? It certainly looks like that could be the case.

Bell Helicopter and Eurocopter are the two largest helicopter manufacturers in the world, and major rivals. Bell has recently introduced a new civilian helicopter for sale (the model 429 pictured above). They were featuring the new aircraft at their booth at the Paris Air Show.

But a year ago, Eurocopter filed a lawsuit in Canada claiming that the landing skids on the new Bell copter looked like a patented design of Eurocopter. Bell denied the charge, saying the design was developed at their Fort Worth plant.

Last week, a French bailiff showed up at the Bell booth at the Paris Air Show. He had a subpoena, and demanded documents and access to Bell's display of the model 429. This tied up the Bell exhibit for most of the day, because they had to partially dismantle the 429 display to allow lawyers to examine and photograph the landing skids. Bell was also unable to offer demonstration flights on the model they had on hand.

Bell spokesman Joe LaMarca said, "They significantly impeded our ability to conduct business, which is why we’re here. They could have asked to photograph the skids at a time that was less disruptive to our customers."

It looks like LaMarca has a point. The air show lasted for several days. Why couldn't they have done the inspection and taken pictures at night, or some other time? Why did they feel it necessary to do it during business hours? Were they intentionally trying to give Eurocopter an advantage by interfering with Bell's sales?

There is no evidence that Eurocopter requested the French interference, but it certainly looks suspicious.