Lawsuit could mean studios don’t own the rights to their CGI characters

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

So, a new case is being brought up about the rights of CGI characters. Not civil rights (I can't wait to read the comments section when that becomes a thing), but rather ownership. Right now studios own the rights to these characters, as many films are riddled with fully CGI characters (such as the Marvel films with characters like Rocket Raccoon and The Hulk). However, it seems this often made possible using stolen technology…which the studios willing knew about.

Here's the case, according to THR, which is about to get cyberpunk-as-fuck in here:

Rearden LLC is the plaintiff. The firm was founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Perlman, who claims to own software called MOVA, which captures facial expressions to create photorealistic computer graphic effects. Rearden also alleges its technology was stolen by a former colleague before eventually landing in the hands of a Chinese firm. As the FBI investigated economic espionage, Rearden waged litigation with this Chinese company and won an injunction. Now, Rearden is suing the customers of the stolen technology — Disney, Fox and Paramount — who find their blockbusters the subject of bold intellectual property claims.

Rearden is arguing that the technology does "the Lion's share" of the work in creating a character, unlike how a writer or artist has almost total control over their words in Microsoft Word or their artwork on Photoshop. This could be very disruptive to the way Hollywood does things, and could have a devastating ripple effect going forward. Essentially, it would mean the studios won't have ownership of the CGI characters in their films, since many used the MOVA technology. No one knows the ramifications if the plaintiff wins the case just yet, but either way this case goes, it's going to be significant. Keep your eyes open.

So what do you Schmoes think about this case? Either way, sound off below!