Britain’s Rolls-Royce has settled a legal row over patent rights on commercial jets with U.S. rival Pratt & Whitney of East Hartford, in a case which threatened to delay deliveries of Boeing’s new 787 passenger aircraft, Reuters reports.
Rolls and Pratt, which is owned by Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., have dropped lawsuits filed against each other over disputes surrounding Rolls’ Trent 900 and 1000 engines and the GP7200 engine, developed by Pratt and General Electric .
“We have reached an amicable, confidential settlement agreement resulting in dismissal of all patent litigation between the parties,” a Rolls-Royce spokesman told Reuters.
Pratt last year accused Rolls of copying turbine blade technology used on its Trent 900 and 1000 engines. Pratt also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to block Boeing from importing the Trent 1000, which powers its new 787 Dreamliner jet.
Another lawsuit centered around a patent dispute over P&W and GE’s GP7200 engine.
Rolls and P&W are part of the International Aero Engines alliance — a joint venture including Germany’s MTU and Japanese Aero Engines — to produce the V2500 turbofan.
Â
