by Megan Carboni, Associate Staff<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earlier this August, patent rights\u2019 holder Alki David, owner of Hologram USA, filed suit against The Simpsons<\/em>\u2019 broadcaster, 20th<\/sup> Century Fox, for alleged patent rights infringements.[1] David asserts infringement of his acquired hologram technology used to bring Homer Simpson to life at this year\u2019s Comic-Con convention in San Diego.[2] Oddly enough, Homer Simpson is not the only celebrity in hot water over alleged unauthorized use of David\u2019s patented technology. Michael Jackson\u2019s estate and Pulse Evolution are also being sued for the unauthorized use of David\u2019s hologram technology to bring Michael Jackson back to life at the Billboard Music Awards.[3] Adding more fuel to the fire is Pulse\u2019s cross complaint stating that David is \u201cfalsely claim[ing] credit for creating and developing the visual effects spectacle [of Jackson] in a nationally-televised interview on CNN, in press releases, and on his various websites [\u2026].\u201d[4]<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, where did this all begin? Stepping back in time, back to 1862, a stage trick for magic shows was developed by two magicians called \u201cPepper\u2019s Ghost.\u201d[5] \u201cPepper\u2019s Ghost\u201d was a lifelike illusion technique that has currently been popularized in movie special effects, concerts, and amusement park rides.[6] Most recently, \u201cPepper\u2019s Ghost\u201d inspired the hologram technology behind Tupac Shakur\u2019s resurrection at the 2012 Coachella Music Festival, whose patent rights were acquired by David and Hologram USA in February 2013.[7] Unfortunately for the late Michael Jackson and the animated Homer Simpson, neither Pulse nor Fox obtained any licensing rights to use the same hologram technology to create their holograms before they were publicly debuted. [8] Thus, enter the multimillion-dollar patent infringement suits brought by David. David\u2019s attorneys representing him in the Jackson lawsuit state that Pulse, and now Fox, \u201chave created significant confusion in the marketplace [and] diluted the value of the Hologram USA brand.\u201d[9]<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But were Simpson and Jackson holograms made with the same technology? Of course, patent experts in this field will have to weigh in to determine if any of David\u2019s claims of stolen holograms have any weight to them. The accused parties have publicly disavowed David\u2019s allegations, with Fox saying \u201c[t]his filing is totally without merit [\u2026] except to say [\u2026] Mr. David has demonstrated his insatiable need to stay relevant.\u201d[10] Pulse adds in their own suit against the Hologram USA owner that David is merely \u201cdivert[ing] public and industry attention away from Pulse Entertainment,\u201d asserting claims against David of unfair business competition practices and trade libel.[11] Pulse further asserts that the \u201cmischaracterization of the [Michael Jackson] animation as a hologram highlights David\u2019s complete lack of technical expertise\u2026.[This] was not a hologram at all, rather, it was an animation projected onto a screen.\u201d[12]<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Will the courts find for David in his patent infringement claims? Or will they find that there is little substance to his allegations? Does the industry need the distinction between each of the types of technology and animation to continue to bring this type of entertainment to the masses? Is it also coincidence that Fox successfully sued one of David\u2019s media companies for copyright infringement in 2012?[13] Time, or a hefty settlement (D\u2019Oh!), will tell who has the future rights to collect off of celebrity holograms\/animations technology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] Homer Simpson Duffed With Patent Lawsuit<\/em>, WORLD INTELL. PROP. REV. (Aug. 18, 2014), http:\/\/www.worldipreview.com\/news\/homer-duffed-with-patent-lawsuit-7050.html.<\/p>\n [2] Id. <\/em><\/p>\n [3] Id. <\/em><\/p>\n [4] Eriq Gardner, Michael Jackson \u2018Hologram\u2019 Show Sparks New Legal Crossfire (Exclusive)<\/em>, THE HOLLYWOOD REP. (June 19, 2014, 12:11 PM), http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/thr-esq\/michael-jackson-hologram-show-sparks-713109.html.<\/p>\n [5] Eriq Gardner, Homer Simpson Hologram at Comic-Con Draws Patent Lawsuit (Exclusive)<\/em>, THE HOLLYWOOD REP. (Aug. 15, 2014, 12:54 PM), http:\/\/hollywoodreporter.com\/thr-esq\/homer-simpson-hologram-at-comic-725830.html.<\/p>\n [6] Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial at 2, Hologram USA, Inc. et al. v. Pulse Evolution Corp. et al. (D. Nev. May 29, 2014) (No. 2:14-cv-00772).<\/p>\n [7] Eriq Gardner, Homer Simpson Hologram at Comic-Con Draws Patent Lawsuit (Exclusive)<\/em>, THE HOLLYWOOD REP. (Aug. 15, 2014, 12:54 PM), http:\/\/hollywoodreporter.com\/thr-esq\/homer-simpson-hologram-at-comic-725830.html.<\/p>\n [8] Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [9] Eriq Gardner, Michael Jackson \u2018Hologram\u2019 Show Sparks New Legal Crossfire (Exclusive)<\/em>, THE HOLLYWOOD REP. (June 19, 2014, 12:11 PM), http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/thr-esq\/michael-jackson-hologram-show-sparks-713109.html.<\/p>\n [10] Gardner, supra<\/em> note 6.<\/p>\n [11] Eriq Gardner, Michael Jackson \u2018Hologram\u2019 Show Sparks New Legal Crossfire<\/em>, THE HOLLYWOOD REP. (June 19, 2014, 12:11 PM), http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/thr-esq\/michael-jackson-hologram-show-sparks-713109.html.<\/p>\n [12] Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [13] See<\/em> WORLD INTELL. PROP. REV., supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Megan Carboni, Associate Staff \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earlier this August, patent rights\u2019 holder Alki David, owner of Hologram USA, filed suit against The Simpsons\u2019 broadcaster, 20th Century Fox, for alleged patent rights infringements.[1] David asserts infringement of his acquired hologram technology used to bring Homer Simpson to life at this year\u2019s Comic-Con convention in San […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4287,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[51366],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paMHOZ-B4","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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