A former director with Universal Creative is suing Disney, claiming the company used his design for a themed drop ride mechanism in its Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride without compensating him after he pitched the design to Disney years earlier.
Louis Alfieri, now the chief creative officer of entertainment design company Raven Sun Creative, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for allegedly infringing on his patent for a “tower ride,” according to a lawsuit filed in Orlando’s U.S. District Court last week.
Alfieri claims his company submitted a proposal to Walt Disney Imagineering in 2014 for an “Ultra Tower Show Experience” that would use the technology of Alfieri’s then-pending patent, according to the lawsuit. Disney used Alfieri’s technology without consulting his company, the suit contends.
