Spider-Man against the Patent Examiner

I recently went to see the rather magnificent “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Live in Concert”, in which the ground-breaking 2018 movie was presented along with a live orchestra plus DJ. (For those who are familiar with the film, seeing Miles' Leap of Faith soundtracked by a live orchestra, in a theatre with a very invested audience, was quite the moment).

Seeing the film reminded me of earlier reports that Sony were seeking to patent some of the animation techniques used in the film; so naturally, I went in search of some of the relevant patents.

US 11,763,507 was granted by the USPTO in September 2023, and is titled “Emulating Hand-Drawn Lines in CG Animation”. I don't pretend to understand the detail, being neither an animator nor a software expert, but in general terms the patent describes a machine-learning technique which allows artists to achieve hand-drawn lines on a 3D CG character image from working in a 2D space “to provide the most intuitive space for the artist to draw”. The patent figures include images of Miles Morales and Peter B Parker. The corresponding European patent application has not yet granted, with the examiner querying whether the claims provide a technical effect, or if they relate to the mere provision of information.

Regardless of the technical details, I am just pleased that all the artists involved managed to create something truly breathtaking.