Disney has taken a broader swing at protecting the technology powering its aerial drone shows, filing an expanded patent claim that shifts the focus away from a drone's physical appearance and toward the brains behind the performance.
The original patent language required a themed outer shell — essentially a costume wrapped around the drone — but the updated filing removes that condition entirely. What Disney is now claiming as proprietary is the onboard system that allows a drone to switch between show scripts in real time during a performance.
That real-time script-switching capability is what lets a drone show adapt on the fly, coordinating light, movement, and timing across a swarm of aircraft without missing a beat. By widening the claim beyond any specific physical design, Disney is positioning itself to protect the underlying logic of the system regardless of what the drones actually look like.
Drone shows have become a signature element of Disney's nighttime entertainment, appearing at parks where they complement — or in some cases replace — traditional fireworks displays. Securing broader intellectual property rights around the control technology could have significant implications for how competitors develop their own aerial entertainment systems going forward.
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This story was first reported by WDWMAGIC.
