Litigation wave poised to hit OEMs

Are you having a problem with OEMs starting to charge for intellectual property rights (IP) rights with regard to continued airworthiness? You are not alone. Component repair and overhaul is where the first salvo of litigation will strike this year in the battle to stem anti-competitive practices in our industry (forget the silly Boeing-Airbus WTO saga). As the OEMs move more and more into the aftermarket and squeeze out the smaller independent maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) shops they diminish choice for consumers. Such a level of control also has an impact on financing as it channels the product back