A lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. has roped the entertainment giant into a long-running legal dispute over ownership rights to a visual-effects technology, potentially threatening the company’s ability to profit from the top-grossing movie so far this year.
Rearden LLC, a company controlled by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Perlman, on Monday sued Disney DIS, +0.92% in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleging copyright, patent and trademark infringement, stemming from Disney’s use of a facial-capture technology in the March blockbuster “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Rearden is seeking injunctions to stop Disney from selling or showing these movies until the two companies reach a deal.
The dispute centers on a technology called MOVA Contour. In “Beauty and the Beast,” it was used to turn actor Dan Stevens’ facial performance into that of the beast. In “Guardians” and “Age of Ultron,” it was used in the portrayal of the alien Thanos.