This could get spicy. IF (big IF) US ThrillRides' recounting of the events are accurate, I could definitely see there being a case here. It's a little hard to not see the similarities between Intamin's Storm Coaster and the Polercoaster concepts US ThrillRides collaborated with Intamin on. Furthermore, if US ThrillRides was already working with the Dubai developer and in talks with Intamin to subcontract out the coaster only to have Intamin go behind their backs and sell directly to the developers, big yikes.
This could get spicy. IF (big IF) US ThrillRides' recounting of the events are accurate, I could definitely see there being a case here. It's a little hard to not see the similarities between Intamin's Storm Coaster and the Polercoaster concepts US ThrillRides collaborated with Intamin on. Furthermore, if US ThrillRides was already working with the Dubai developer and in talks with Intamin to subcontract out the coaster only to have Intamin go behind their backs and sell directly to the developers, big yikes.
Where is this suit being filed?
Regardless of forum, I see a few legal challenges / questions here:
1. Did the contract between US ThrillRides and Intamin include any language regarding international projects?
2A. Much like Jinma/Golden Horse, this happened overseas and so what sort of protections would US ThrillRides be privy to?
2B. If the decision is found for the plaintiff, what sort of punishment will this entail and how enforceable is it (will it include auto-garnishment of future US-based Intamin projects)?
Regardless of forum, I see a few legal challenges / questions here:
1. Did the contract between US ThrillRides and Intamin include any language regarding international projects?
2A. Much like Jinma/Golden Horse, this happened overseas and so what sort of protections would US ThrillRides be privy to?
2B. If the decision is found for the plaintiff, what sort of punishment will this entail and how enforceable is it (will it include auto-garnishment of future US-based Intamin projects)?
I think there is more than face value here and I would probably put my money on this case being thrown out. I think this is a hail mary to either get attention back on the polercoaster or to get an infusion of cash. Personally, I think the concepts are different enough to not be infringement (where's the "pole" on Storm Coaster) but the bigger issue I see is that Intamin wasn't who originally developed the Polercoaster with them -- I can't remember exactly who but I know there were 3 different partners that they had through the MANY years that one of these things were supposed to be built and Intamin was the last and current partner. I want to say that Vekoma and/or S&S were previously involved but I could be wrong. Bill Kitchen also has been pretty reckless recently especially with him running is mouth regarding the Orlando Free Fall accident......
S&S was the original partner when the Orlando Polercoaster was first announced and it switched over to Intamin at some point but I'm unaware of a 3rd manufacturer being involved.
My big thing is with US Thrillrides they announced all of these projects, Atlantic City, Georgia, Orlando, and we haven't seen anything. Hell they were fucking publicly *crowdfunding* the orlando project and didn't make enough money to build it.
That's the bigger portion of my point -- US ThrillRides has kind of been a disaster.... I think it'd be hard for them to justify their own actions in order to accuse others of something.
I do feel like there was a different partner after the first collapsed deal that joined up because S&S pulled out -- whoever it was was just kind of there saying "yea, we'll jump in if you get a deal" but I don't know that they ever actually had contracts/plans during that time.
I mean, 500ft el loco seems pretty cool
I think the fact that it can be multiple attractions in one is pretty....... attractive. A moderately thrilling roller coaster, an observation tower as well as a upcharge restaurant could all be done in a footprint less than half the size of a roller coaster
It is putting a lot in a small space, but the roller coaster part I just can't see being very fun. A novelty, sure.
I'm guessing you haven't been on an El Loco yet? That being said though, the 500ft coaster won't make any substantial drops from what I've read and the concept art that I've seen. If you get an intelligent designer there's no reason why you can do constant swooping runs around the tower to eat energy. Obviously there will need to be some trims and blocks but it doesn't have to be overbearing.
I don't know, Volcano was mostly a slope run, and it rode great. I think with a 4 seater car and a clever layout, it could actually be pretty solid.
I just looked it up. What does El Loco have in common with this? It doesn't look anything at all like it. Maybe I'm missing something, though. It looks just like a normal small steel roller coaster. It doesn't start high up and then keep going down in a small amount of space. A polar coaster is going to have to have lots of trims, it seems to me. In such a tight, small amount of space I don't see how they avoid that. But I'm not a physics major. I could be wrong. I hope so.
The ride elements are very similar to what was shown for the Orlando polar coaster. Outward banked turns, hang time inversions and a sort of stop and go style layout
El Loco is a model of coaster and it's design incorporates stupidly intense and steep drops that have to be counteracted by trims in a lot of places. It's not that it's related to a Polercoaster but that the El Loco models of coasters do exactly what you said you were worried about with a Polercoaster but it's still one of the most fun model of coaster you can ride.