Ouch - IMAX technology stolen
This could be interesting -- from the
Ottawa Sun:
IMAX claims ex employee stole its technology, fled to China
IMAX, the Canadian company that created the iconic, big-screen film format, is suing a former employee it claims stole its proprietary technology and fled to China to form his own film company.
IMAX sued Gary Tsui in Ontario, Los Angeles, as well as in Beijing, and despite reports that the two sides are negotiating a settlement, IMAX refused Monday to speak publicly on the case.
IMAX's expansion into the Chinese market has exposed the company to competition that allegedly doesn't play by North American rules. And IMAX's chances of getting retribution against its former employee are not strong, according to two intellectual property experts.
Tsui was a high-level IMAX engineer who worked in the company's Ontario office from 1999 to 2009. Court documents state that several months after Tsui quit, IMAX lost a contract to build a 3D theatre in a museum in Hangzhou, China, to an "unknown" company reportedly run by Tsui.
It will be interesting to see what happens on this. The Chinese now have the hardware but they do not have the software -- the movies themselves. The hardware is the simple part. What makes IMAX great is the way the films are made specifically for the format -- no way that you can steal that. I doubt the theater will be successful with mediocre content; yes, they can take a 'normal' film and just show it on a bigger screen but movies made for IMAX are shot differently -- more attention to the peripheral images.
Posted by DaveH at February 5, 2014 3:05 PM