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18 August 2014Patents

Homer Simpson duffed with patent lawsuit

The owner of a Hologram company has filed a lawsuit against film company Twentieth Century Fox after it recreated a 3D version of Homer Simpson at a comic convention last month.

Alki David, owner of Hologram USA, has said the appearance of the popular cartoon character at the San Diego Comic-Con infringed his company’s patented technology for projecting 3D images on stage.

In a lawsuit filed on Thursday (August 14) at the US District Court for the Southern District of California, David claimed Fox had infringed two patents which, he said, allow the company to produce the “amazing technique”.

The asserted patents are US numbers, 5,865,519 and 7,883, 212, which are both directed to displaying moving images and projections.

David claimed the technology derives from an illusion technique known as “pepper’s ghost”, created in 1862.

“Today, thanks to technology patented in over 180 countries, a revolutionised version of ‘pepper’s ghost’ has appeared,” said the lawsuit, adding that Hologram USA had acquired all rights to use it.

“Defendants used the patented technology to produce an image of Homer Simpson, which interacted with [Simpsons’ creator] Matt Groening, during a highly publicised panel discussion,” the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit recounts a 45-minute discussion with Groening, executive producer Al Jean and others at the event. Near the end, Groening introduced Homer to the stage.

It is not the first time David and Hologram USA have been involved in litigation surrounding hologram technology.

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed against animation and technology company Pulse Entertainment accusing it of patent infringement when it projected a hologram of the late Michael Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards.

The performance attracted an audience of ten million.

Pulse filed a counter suit in June.

Alleging wilful infringement, the latest lawsuit said because Fox is the co-producer of The Simpsons television show, and the owner of copyright and trademarks to it, it is “involved in the performance”.

Gracie Films, which co-produces the show, was also targeted.

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