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27 February 2017Patents

Disney sued by three brothers in wristband clash

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide and Disney Online have been sued by three US-based brothers over wristbands.

The products, called MagicBand, can be used to access the parks and purchase goods at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Bryan, James and Charles Freeny III sued Disney at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Eastern Division on Thursday, February 24.

The suit concerns US patent number 6,490,443, called “Communication and proximity authorisation systems”, which Disney is alleged to have infringed through the MagicBand.

The ‘443 patent is described as protecting “novel systems in which electronic devices can communicate wirelessly to provide and/or receive services from other electronic devices when they are within proximity of each other”.

Charles Freeny Jr, who is now deceased, is the named inventor of the patent. The brothers are now the owners.

The Freeny brothers asked for a permanent injunction against Disney, damages, pre- and post- judgment interest, costs, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.

In October last year, the brothers sued retailer Sears for patent infringement, in a case that centred on the automated pricing systems used by the company.

The patents named in that suit were also invented by Freeny Jr.

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Patents
29 September 2016   The family of a deceased inventor has sued US department store Sears for patent infringement, in a case centring on automated pricing systems.