Sept 11 (Reuters) - The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals on Thursday reinstated a $600,000 verdict won by a

motion-capture technology company that accused Disney ( DIS ) of

misusing its technology in the 2017 live-action remake of

"Beauty and the Beast."

The appeals court overturned a California federal judge's

decision that the jury should not have found Disney ( DIS ) liable for a

contractor's alleged infringement of Rearden LLC's copyrights.

Spokespeople and attorneys for Disney ( DIS ) and Rearden did not

immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Rearden, founded by former Apple scientist Steve Perlman,

first sued Disney ( DIS ) in 2017. It said that a "rogue" Rearden

employee stole its Mova Contour facial-capture technology and

took it to another company, Digital Domain 3.0.

Rearden's lawsuit said that Disney ( DIS ) infringed its copyright

in Mova by working with Digital Domain to utilize the technology

in "Beauty and the Beast." It asked the court for monetary

damages including a share of profits from Disney's ( DIS ) movie, which

earned more than $1.25 billion worldwide.

A California jury awarded Rearden nearly $600,000 in damages

for copyright infringement in 2023. U.S. District Judge Jon

Tigar overturned the verdict last year, finding that Disney ( DIS ) was

not involved in the animation process that used Rearden's

software and could not have recognized or policed Digital

Domain's infringement.

A three-judge appeals court panel reversed Tigar's ruling

and revived the verdict on Thursday. The panel said that there

was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that

Disney ( DIS ) could have stopped or limited Digital Domain's

misconduct.

The 9th Circuit also affirmed that Rearden was not entitled

to any profits from "Beauty and the Beast."

The case is Rearden LLC v. Walt Disney Pictures, 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-3970.

For Rearden: Mark Carlson of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro

For Disney ( DIS ): Kelly Klaus of Munger, Tolles & Olson

Read more:

US jury says Disney ( DIS ) owes $600k in motion-capture copyright

trial

Disney ( DIS ) settles lawsuits over movie motion-capture technology

Disney ( DIS ) wins bid to overturn $600k 'Beauty and the Beast'

copyright verdict

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)