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Takes
Insight + analysis on indie film legal issues
Motion capture tech inventor’s intellectual property claims alleging infringement by Disney moving closer to termination?
Entertainment law case updates
Rearden LLC v. Walt Disney Co.
USDC ND Cal June 8, 2022
Several years ago in 2017, Rearden LLC, inventor of the MOVA Contour Reality Capture Program (“MOVA”) software for capturing facial expressions filed suit alleging copyright and trademark infringement by the Walt Disney Company and Twentieth Century Fox arising out of several summer tentpoles. Dismissed in part since then, the case’s remaining intellectual property infringement claims now appear closer to fading to black. The District Court for the Northern District of California recently granted Disney’s motion for partial reconsideration of the court’s denial of summary judgment for the defendants as to three films: Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Deadpool. The court granted summary judgment as to four other features: Terminator: Genisys, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and Fantastic Four. Disney did not move for reconsideration as to Beauty and the Beast.
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