BulletProof Technologies, a Californian software developer, was
appointed to design a travel reservation system for easyJet.
According to it, easyJets’ original system was faulty.
That original system, OpenRes, was designed by Navitaire of
Minnesota, a wholly-owned Accenture subsidiary. Navitaire provided
computer reservation software to a number of other low-cost
airlines. In May last year, Navitaire sued easyJet and later
BulletProof in the English courts, arguing that the new system
(eRes) infringed Navitaire's copyright.
According to InfoWorld the complaint alleges that eRes accepted
some of the same commands as OpenRes, used similar database fields
and used the same “business logic”. Whether “business logic” can be
copyrighted has not yet been decided in English courts, but the
point has already been decided in the US - or so BulletProof’s
lawyers believe.
BulletProof, which has an agreement with easyJet that it can use
the reservation software elsewhere, wishes to market the product in
the US, but is hampered by the ongoing UK action. It has therefore
asked a Federal Court for a definitive ruling that eRes does not
violate Navitaires’ US rights, and that BulletProof has the right
to sell, distribute and market eRes.
