The Role of Patents in the Civil Aircraft Industry From a Historical and a Comparative Perspective
The global market for civil airliners (small and wide body, more than 10 passengers) measures several billion dollars in the coming years. Since this contested market is effectively divided up between only four companies, the question arises if the competitors make use of patents as a way of gaining economic advantage (meaning selling more planes). Especially Boeing and Airbus wage a literal war against each other using all means, including political influence on their governments. This already led to several patent suits and is at present the reason for two of the largest WTO cases in the history of this organi-zation.
The project starts with a description of the biggest legal patent "battle" in the history of aviation: The suit of the Wright Brothers against their main competitor in the U.S., Glenn Curtiss. Based on a very broad conception of the claims in the Wrights' patent for a "Flying Machine" the courts decided against Curtiss. He fought on and the trial dragged on until World War I. Since the U.S. were behind the European powers in regard of aero plane technology, a patent pool was founded and the suit dismissed. The history of the pool is described and its implication on the U.S. industry analyzed.
In order to get an impression of the global market and its main suppliers the thesis then provides an insight into aircraft manufacturers past and present, with a special regard to the four now remaining great companies: The U.S. giant Boeing, its European competitor Airbus Industries, Bombardier (Canada) and Embraer of Brazil.
The importance of patents in the industry is then tried to be defined as a set of several aspects, comprising absolute numbers of granted patents, merger control, subsidies or development partnerships. The view on the real aspects is clouded, since the manufacturers will not provide any positive statement about the usage of the patent system. But in an indirect way the above-mentioned aspects can at least be partly confirmed.
Several patent case studies are shown to illustrate different technologies which are brought under the protection of the patent system. These technologies are presently under development or were introduced in the 70s. All of these are used in existing models or those which are currently being developed. Thus the significance of patents in the industry is further underlined.
Finally the actual WTO cases involving the USA and the European Communities as representatives for Boeing and Airbus are laid out as far as they concern subsidies on patentable technologies. Some older cases involving the second row of manufacturers, Bombardier and Embraer, are also analyzed, as they also concern subsidies on technology development.
The findings can be summarized as follows: While information about the "real" importance of patents for the civil aircraft industry is scarce (the manufacturers are very reluctant to answer any questions about intellectual property), circumstances such as the ongoing WTO disputes between the EU and the USA, current developments in aircraft technology by the main competitors Airbus and Boeing, and statistical data lead to the conclusion that the importance in the current market is enormous. As can be seen by several examples of modern technologies to be employed in new models such as the Boeing 787 or Airbus A380 and A350, both main manufacturers are content with current market positions, but will try to capture or hold their position as a leader in the market of wide-body aircraft. Especially Boeing is reluctant and wary since Airbus attacked its virtual monopoly in long-range big-sized aircraft, which until this year comprised only one model – the Boeing 747. Now Boeing must be careful with the arrival of the A380.
The thesis is written in German and was only partly supported from MIPLC funds.