Shenzhenshi Haitiecheng Science and Technology Co. v. Rearden

Today, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge Jon S. Tigar presiding, issued a statement of decision resolving a complex dispute over ownership of facial motion capture technology used in major motion pictures including Deadpool and Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.

WVBR’s client, Rearden LLC, invented the groundbreaking technology.  As Judge Tigar concluded, however, a rogue Rearden employee took, and purported to sell, the technology to a third party that “was aware of [the employee’s] obligations to Rearden and knew that [the employee] was not the true owner.”  In other words, this was a theft of intellectual property, that required careful thinking and a relentless focus on the part of Rearden’s attorneys.

After trial, however, the verdict was clear: the Plaintiff/Intervenor “does not own the Mova Assets because Rearden owns them. . . . Rearden may take possession of the Mova
Assets forthwith.”  A copy of the statement of decision is available here.