Ex-pilot sues over helicopter logging
'Stem harvesting' system employed in difficult areas at heart of patent claim
VANCOUVER -- Coastal logging firms in British Columbia are facing legal action from a retired helicopter pilot, who claims to have invented a system that is widely used to cherry pick old-growth trees from challenging terrain.
In a statement of claim, filed in the B.C. Supreme Court, Philip Jarman and Heli Tech Services (Canada) Ltd. allege that the companies are infringing on his patent rights by using standing stem harvesting without his permission.
Mr. Jarman is now seeking "reasonable compensation'' from the nine companies, which are named in the suit.
They include Weyerhaeuser Co., Cascadia Forest Products Ltd., Island Timber Contracting Ltd., TimberWest Forest Corp., Brascan Timberlands Management Inc., R.E.M. Contracting, Canadian Air-Crane Ltd., VIH Logging Ltd. and International Forest Products Ltd.
"We are asking the courts to enforce the provisions of patent protection,'' Mr. Jarman said in an interview.
When asked to respond, officials at Weyerhaeuser and other companies named in the suit said they were unable to comment on the allegations -- none of which have been proven in court -- because they had not yet been served with the statement of claim.
Currently a resident of Costa Rica, Mr. Jarman is a 59-year-old former helicopter pilot, who flew forest industry workers to remote logging sites in the late 1990s when he was based in Port Alberni, B.C.
It was at that time that Mr. Jarman says he came up with standing stem harvesting, a process that allows helicopters to selectively log valuable, old-growth trees, in remote areas that are not accessible by road.
Loggers prepare the tree for harvesting by cutting off the tops, removing the branches, and cutting a series of wedges into the bark, leaving behind just enough standing wood to prevent the tree from toppling over.
Once the helicopter is in position, it lowers a grapple, which attaches itself to the tree, snapping it off the stump, and permitting the pilot to transport it away without damaging other trees in the region.
"This has been recognized as a unique industrial process that no one had done before," said Mr. Jarman, adding that Heli Tech was licensed to use the system.
Mr. Jarman alleges that he took the idea to executives of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. (since acquired by Weyerhaeuser) in 1997, hoping that they would agree to fund the process of trying it out on their properties.
He alleges that in December, 1997, the MacBlo executives signed a non-disclosure agreement, which prevented them from sharing what they allegedly agreed was intellectual property, and the subject of patent applications.
However, after allegedly agreeing on Jan 8, 1999, to pay Mr. Jarman a rate of $10 a cubic metre for wood that was harvested by the standing stem system, MacBlo later changed its mind and declined to have any further dealings with him.
Mr. Jarman alleges that after acquiring MacBlo in 1999, Weyerhaeuser shared the information about his system with other companies, including Cascadia, Island Timber and TimberWest without his consent.
Canadian Air-Crane marketing manager John Smith said he knew Mr. Jarman and described his system as "a logical product."
"We do quite a bit of it," he said.
Mr. Smith also said he knew that Mr. Jarman had gone to MacBlo to get their opinion on his process because they were the industry's biggest players. "I just never thought of Phil as an inventor," he said.
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