Disney Loses ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Case Over Visual Effects Technology

A jury awards VFX firm Rearden $600,000

Beauty and the Beast rearden walt disney studios
Disney

A jury has ruled that Walt Disney Studios infringed on the intellectual property rights of visual effects firm Rearden when it utilized the company’s MOVA Contour software without permission in the 2017 film “Beauty and the Beast.”

The decision states that Disney failed to properly license the MOVA Contour technology, owned by Rearden, despite knowing that its visual effects partner, DD3, may not have had rights to use or sublicense the software. Disney continued to benefit from using the proprietary MOVA system in “Beauty and the Beast” regardless, the jury ruled.

The jury awarded Rearden about $600,000, including $350,000 meant to represent Disney’s profits attributed to using the copyrighted MOVA technology.

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