ARRI and Rotolight have announced that they’ve settled their dispute over Rotolight patents and that both sides have withdrawn their legal challenges. 

"ARRI has agreed to a settlement with Rotolight, relating to Rotolight’s cinematic special effects “CineSFX" patent portfolio in the US, UK, and Europe,” ARRI and Rotolight said in a joint statement. “ARRI no longer contests the validity of Rotolight’s patents and has withdrawn its Inter Partes Review in the US accordingly. Simultaneously, Rotolight has withdrawn its US District patent court action against ARRI. All ARRI products will continue to be offered as always. ARRI and Rotolight respect intellectual property and value fair competition”. 

In a separate statement, Rod Aaron Gammons, CEO of Rotolight added that “Rotolight invests millions each year into research and development in order to bring its customers the latest in lighting technology and innovation. However, such investments can only be made with the knowledge that those investments and the intellectual property, which underpins them will be respected. We are therefore pleased to have reached a settlement with ARRI, and shall continue to take all steps necessary to protect our intellectual property from ongoing infringement. In so doing, this will allow us to continue to invest in bringing industry-first innovations to market. Any other infringing companies should now proactively approach Rotolight directly, to secure a licensing agreement on reasonable commercial terms. ”      

Rotolight designs innovative LED lighting products for the cine/broadcast and photographic industries that have been used by leading filmmakers, studios and broadcasters around the globe.   

Manufactured in the UK, Rotolight products have pioneered numerous industry-first, patented technologies, such as the first suite of user customizable cinematic lighting effects (CineSFX), and the world’s first electronic diffusion technology (SmartSoft), the company said.  

The company also noted that the Rotolight CineSFX and related Magic Eye patent family contains 18 granted patents relating to user-customisable special effects, which have been granted by patent offices in the US, UK, Germany and Europe, the company said. 

These patents were developed internally by Rotolight, working in conjunction with Emmy winning Visual FX Veteran Stefan Lange (IMDB), who is listed as a co-inventor of these patents. 

In addition to the settlement agreed with ARRI, Rotolight also successfully defended two IPR cases relating to the same patents (IPR2022-00262 and IPR2022-00261) in the USA brought against it by Vitec Production Solutions Inc. 

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board found in Rotolight's favor, denied the institution of their InterPartes patent review and re-confirmed the validity of the granted Rotolight CineSFX patents, Rotolight said. 

LONDON—Rotolight has announced the next generation of its hugely popular LED lighting products: the Rotolight NEO 3 and AEOS 2. 

These exciting new products combine the ‘shoot what you see’ benefits of continuous light, with a world-first High-Speed Sync RGBWW flash, the company said. 

The two ground-breaking fixtures are available now for pre-order exclusively through Rotolight’s Kickstarter campaign, which will run through November 16th, 2021, the company said. 

The pocket-sized Rotolight NEO 3 is the brightest on-camera LED light ever produced, the company said. It is available as an individual light, a three-light kit and with a new, bespoke, high-performance, rechargeable lithium battery. 

The Rotolight AEOS 2 is uniquely lightweight with an ultra-thin design, which the company is billing as the thinnest and lightest 1 x 1 panel ever made at under 1.4kg. 

For the first time, both of Rotolight’s new products will allow photographers to flash in any one of 16.7 million colors or 2,500 digital filters with zero recycle time, the company said. .

A new full-color 2-inch touchscreen display, allows users to access key features and recall their settings. An all new Rotolight iOS and Android native app, allows users to easily switch between lighting modes to remotely adjust color, power, SFX and to create custom groups and projects on up to 20 lights simultaneously.  

The intelligent softbox designed for AEOS 2: SmartSoft Box electronically adjusts the light’s diffusion, focus and spread without the need for gels via the touchscreen display or Rotolight app.  

In addition, a new Rotolight Universal Speedring adaptor unlocks an endless suite of Bowens-mount modifiers for the Rotolight NEO & AEOS range, making achieving great soft light easier than ever before and demonstrating Rotolight’s commitment to the brand’s loyal global user community.

“The NEO 3 and AEOS 2 are a huge leap forward in lighting technology, and we’re extremely excited about launching on the Kickstarter platform to bring these state-of-the-art products to more people than ever before,” says Rotolight CEO, Rod Aaron Gammons. “For new users, this is a fantastic opportunity to join the Rotolight family, while for our existing customers it’s our chance to say thank you for a decade of support with an exclusive opportunity to be the first in the world to own these revolutionary products.”  

The NEO 3 and AEOS 2, are available now exclusively on Kickstarter until November 16th, and will ship March 2022. More information is available at www.rotolight.com/kickstarter

LONDON—LED lighting company Rotolight is ushering in its latest fixture, the Titan X1. Designed for both studio and on-location work, Titan X1 builds off of Rotolight’s previously released Titan X2 LED light.

One of the key features of the Titan X1 is SmartSoft, an electronic lighting control to adjust diffusion, focus and spread without the need for gels, per Rotolight. SmartSoft can produce a soft output as well as a harder light source.

Titan X1 also features a touchscreen display that offers quick-start icons and 50 user customizable presets. Users can also preview Titan X1’s filter library with a full color display.

Rotolight’s RGBWW Pentachromic Color Engine is also a part of the Titan X1, helping to give precise skin tones and vivid color saturation. There’s also the suite of user customizable CineSFX.

Rotolight is now offering the Titan X1 for pre-order. For more information, visit www.rotolight.com.  

LONDON—Rotolight has put together two video lighting kits designed for content creators and business professionals for at-home production: the Ultimate Vlogging Kit and the Video Conferencing Kit.

The Ultimate Vlogging Kit features the Rotolight RL48 ring-light, a Rotolight stand adaptor, a Rotopod mini tripod, a smartphone clip, an accessory bar and a four piece filter set that includes 205, LED 204, 216 diffusion and 184 diffusion.

The Video Conferencing Kit, meanwhile, has a Rotolight NEO 2, a Rotolight desktop light stand, a 360-degree ball head and a four piece filter set that includes 184, 279, 216 diffusion and 250 diffusion.

Rotolight is offering the Ultimate Vlogging Kit for $89 and the Video Conferencing Kit for $299.

For more information, visit www.rotolight.com.  

IVER HEATH, England — British LED lighting maker Rotolight has introduced its new NEO 2 Explorer lighting kit, a lightweight three-light package that provides High-Speed Sync (HSS) flash and continuous on-camera LED lighting to video professionals, photographers and filmmakers shooting on location.

NEO 2 provides continuous light, with 500% flash output at 1/8000th of a second, making it possible to shoot with wider apertures, while creating clearer separation between subjects and backgrounds. With no recycle time, the NEO 2 is also suited to use with variable framerate cameras.

[Read: Rotolight Launches Anova Pro 2 LED Light]

“The NEO 2 … can be used as both a modelling light and flash, [with no] need for an external flash,” said Jason Lanier, Rotolight’s master of light. “If you have those moments that you just cannot afford to miss …[the NEO 2] fires every single time and there is genuinely no recycle time, no light loss, no power loss … [There] is no other light in the world that can do that.”

Weighing roughly 15 pounds, Rotolight claims that NEO 2 is one of the lightest weight kits ever designed. Its light stands, color FX filters, and power supplies pack away into a soft, water-resistant case with a padded strap. The kit also includes a CineSFX suite enabling effects like fades, fire, lightning, TV, gunshot, and paparazzi, and an optional Elinchrom HSS transmitter that lets users adjust the color temperature, and trigger the flash, among other functions, from up to 650 feet/200 meters away.

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LONDON—British LED lighting manufacturer Rotolight has a new entry to its stock of LED lights, the Anova Pro 2. The fourth generation of its studio/location light, the Anova Pro 2 offers light and High Speed Sync flash, and can deliver 10,700 lux at 3 feet.

Features for the Anova Pro 2 include electronically adjustable color temperature in both flash and continuous modes (6300-3150K); it also has the CineSFX suite for TV and film production, which now has the wireless Elinchrom Skyport receiver integrated for wireless control. The Anova Pro 2 uses 72W of consumption.

Rotolight reports that the Anova Pro 2 light is currently in use at Celebro, London’s fully 4K television studio, and by Italian state broadcaster RAI TV.

Rotolight will begin shipping the Anova Pro 2 in December for $1,625. It comes with integrated DMX, V-lock battery plate, wireless Elinchrom receiver and four-piece filter kit as standard.