The patent infringement suit instituted by Britain’s national carrier British Airways against Singapore Airlines was originally fixed to be heard in the Singapore High Court in early May of this year. However, both parties have recently entered into a settlement agreement pursuant to two days of talks arbitrated by retired Judge Warren Khoo at the Singapore Mediation Centre. The terms of settlement have not been revealed for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
The subject matter of the high-profile battle between the 2 competing airlines were the sleeper-style seats installed in their first class cabins. BA had alleged in early 1999 that SIA had infringed its patent by introducing first-class seats that could be converted into flat sleeping beds. SIA subsequently sued BA for making groundless threats of patent infringement while claiming that its seats were also patented.
In fact, the already tight competition between the airlines looks to get more intense as BA plans to make the same seats available to its business class passengers. This time around, BA has taken precautionary steps to prevent future legal disputes by ensuring that the business class bed design is according to its commercial director "properly copyrighted".
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