November 30, 2023
A federal courthouse in Oakland will be center stage next week for a jury trial over allegations that Disney owes profits from the billion-dollar Emma Watson blockbuster "Beauty and the Beast" remake to ex-Microsoft executive Steve Perlman's digital effects company for infringing copyright-protected software to make the movie's live-action beast. Here's a look at that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.
June 08, 2022
A California federal judge said Wednesday that he will reconsider whether The Walt Disney Co. owes a portion of the profits from "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Deadpool" to a digital effects company that claims its technology was unlawfully used to make the movies.
August 17, 2021
A California federal judge says Walt Disney Co. might owe a portion of the profits from "Beauty and the Beast," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Deadpool" to a digital effects company that claims its technology was unlawfully used to make the movies.
June 19, 2018
Disney, Paramount and 20th Century Fox lost a bid Monday to escape accusations the Hollywood studios violated copyright law when they created digital effects for "Guardians of the Galaxy" and a slew of other blockbusters.
February 22, 2018
A California federal judge Wednesday trimmed copyright infringement claims against Disney, Paramount and Fox but declined to dismiss claims that Disney's blockbuster films infringed the patents of a visual effects company and that all three studios violated its trademarks.
January 25, 2018
A California federal judge said Thursday he'll probably cut claims alleging The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. infringed a visual effects company's copyrights to animate hit films like "Beauty and the Beast," but he said he's having "a harder time" nixing the suit's patent claims.
July 17, 2017
A computer-generated imagery company accused The Walt Disney Co. in California federal court Monday of using its intellectual property without permission to animate characters in some of its highest-grossing recent films, including the live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast," "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."