BulletProof Technologies was appointed to design a new travel
reservation system for easyJet. According to the Californian
software developer, the system previously used by easyJet 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,
called 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".
According to the Financial Times, Mr Justice Pumfrey told the
English High Court last week that, while it was not disputed that
eRes was written in a different code to OpenRes, Navitaire was
arguing that its rival had studied its system and produced a system
to work in the same way. Pumfrey noted that parallels had been
drawn between the "functional structure" of a computer system and
copying the plot of a book.
A parallel case is being made in the US where BulletProof, which
has an agreement with easyJet that it can use the reservation
software elsewhere, wishes to market the product. To ensure that
Navitaire cannot disrupt its business in the future, BulletProof
has 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.
