Wragge & Co LLP Intellectual Property (IP) team has secured victory for Premium Aircraft Interiors UK Limited (Contour) in a landmark patent and design rights case.

Virgin Atlantic sued Contour (part of the Premium Aircraft Interiors Group), an aircraft seat manufacturer, for patent infringement and UK unregistered design rights infringement relating to its upper class aircraft seat. Virgin claimed infringement of eight design rights over 20 individual design features. Mr Justice Lewison found Premium had not infringed the patent in suit or copied any of the design rights in issue.

IP litigation partner Huw Evans acted for Contour during the three-week Patents Court trial. Director Kate Swaine and solicitors Jennifer Sunderland and Janine Steinhardt also advised. The Wragge & Co team worked closely with Stuart McCaslin, Premium Group company secretary, and John Higgins, Premium Group engineering director. Barristers Mark Vanhegan and Kathryn Pickard at 11 South Square also advised. DLA Piper UK LLP advised Virgin Atlantic.

Huw Evans said: "Patents and UK unregistered design rights are a particularly complex area of IP law, requiring expert knowledge of technical and design issues. Our ability to handle this technically-demanding and resource-intensive case demonstrates the team's first-rate credentials. Contour is one of the world's leading aircraft seat manufacturers, with a reputation for market-leading innovation. This crucial victory upholds the originality of Contour's designs."

Stuart McCaslin at Contour said: "The Wragge team led by Huw Evans together with our counsel Mark Vanhegan and Kathryn Pickard were brilliant! It has been a true team effort of a herculean proportion, conducted in a highly-professional manner under some challenging circumstances."

Contour is based in Camberley and Cwmbran, Wales. It is part of the Premium Aircraft Interiors Group which designs, assembles and markets aircraft interior equipment, including lavatory modules, galleys, galley inserts, cabin interior furniture, sidewall panels, overhead bins, premium seating and spare parts. Its products are sold globally to leading airlines and to major commercial aircraft original equipment manufacturers and aircraft leasing companies. Wragge & Co began advising Premium in 2006.

Wragge & Co's 39-lawyer IP team is one of the UK's top-tier IP practices, delivering advice on contentious and non-contentious matters to UK and multinational organisations. Last year, it secured a hard-fought Court of Appeal victory for Cinpres in the long-running Cinpres Gas Injection Ltd v Melea Ltd case, commended by the 2008 FT Innovative Lawyers report. Other highlights include significant victories for Dyson and Ultraframe in high-profile disputes. In 2008, Wragge & Co opened an IP office in Munich. Clients include British Airways, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, Birds Eye, Microsoft, Inverness Medical and Kingspan.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 685 2785, Rebecca Davies on +44 (0)121 685 3819, Gayle Redding on +44 (0)121 685 2708 or Rebecca Lum on +44 (0)121 260 9973

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.