Disney parks are regularly coming out with new attractions and experiences for guests.
Rise of the Resistance
With such a large company making so many leaps in the creative technologies industry, Disney sometimes runs into legal disputes over creative ownership and more. Now, Disney has been involved in a lawsuit over a certain system in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance!
According to Orlando Sentinel, Louis Alfieri, the chief creative officer of entertainment design company Raven Sun Creative and former Universal creative, has filed a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company over a patent for a themed drop ride mechanism.
Rise of the Resistance
Alfieri claims that Disney used his patented design in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance without compensation after he pitched the design to the company years earlier. The lawsuit was filed in Orlando’s U.S. District Court last week.
Rise of the Resistance
Alfieri’s technology aligns with the portion of the ride where guests drop from the Star Destroyer in an escape pod towards the end of the attraction. Alfieri’s patent is for a “vertically-aligned amusement ride apparatus” where the ride vehicle moves in sync with a screen to increase immersion for guests.
©Raven Sun Creative
According to the lawsuit, Raven Sun Creative submitted a proposal to Walt Disney Imagineering in 2014 for an “Ultra Tower Show Experience” that would use Alfieri’s technology. The lawsuit alleges that Disney then used the technology in Rise of the Resistance, prominently advertising the new technology and profiting from the popularity of the ride.
Rise of the Resistance
The lawsuit also notes that Raven Sun Creative notified Disney of the patent infringement in March 2020 and that Disney responded in November 2020 that they would continue to operate the ride without compensating the company for the alleged infringement.
Rise of the Resistance
Further response to the lawsuit from Disney has not yet been publicized. Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on this lawsuit and other Disney news!
Rise of the Resistance now uses a standby line. Click here to learn more!
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Have you ridden Rise of the Resistance? Tell us in the comments!
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Yes. After 80 minutes in line, it was disappointing. Zooming around to escape was too short.
Given that Disney used a similar vertical ride synchronization concept with the opening of the doors on the Tower of Terror (and hence, has prior art), this should be of little concern.
Who cares…
Disney has a lot bigger lawyers than the competition… This isn’t going to be a problem.