IMAX Cinemark Reportedly Settle Their Lawsuit

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Thu, 01/13/2011 - 19:00 -- Nick Dager

After a years-long legal standoff Cinemark Holdings and IMAX have reached an out-of-court settlement according to a report by Brent Lang of the website The Wrap. This story is especially interesting in light of the recent rumors that Sony plans to acquire at least some IMAX theatres. The two companies recently announced that they have amicably resolved their litigation claims against each other and are partnering on a series of IMAX theatres in Cinemark owned locations. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In September 2009 IMAX sued Cinemark over its attempts to produce its own high-end theater system. In court filings IMAX charged that Cinemark had violated its contract and stolen trade secrets stemming from its long association with the big screen chain to build a competing system called Cinemark XD and Extreme Digital Cinema. Yet according to The Wrap the two have put aside their differences and say that all claims and counterclaims in the patent litigation in Texas and contract litigation in New York are being dismissed with prejudice. The companies announced that Cinemark Holdings will acquire two new digital IMAX theatre systems in Lancaster California and Corpus Christi Texas. Both theatres are expected to open in April. In addition to adding two new sites Cinemark will upgrade all six of its film-based IMAX locations to IMAX digital theaters. That should also be completed by April.