Bran Ferren

Bran Ferren
Action portrait of a man in his fifties with a bushy, strawberry-blond beard seated while speaking wearing a safari jacket and gold watch
Ferren at Applied Minds in 2022
Born (1953-01-16) January 16, 1953 (age 71)[1]
New York City, NY, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology[2]
Occupation(s)Co-founder and chief creative officer, Applied Minds[3]
FatherJohn Ferren

Bran Ferren (born January 16, 1953) is an American technologist,[4][5] artist,[6][7] architectural designer,[8][9] vehicle designer,[10][11][12] engineer,[10][11][12] lighting and sound designer,[13][14] visual effects artist,[15] scientist,[16] lecturer,[17][18] photographer,[19] entrepreneur,[20] and inventor.[21][22] Ferren is the former President of Research and Development of Walt Disney Imagineering[23] as well as founder of Associates & Ferren, a multidisciplinary engineering and design firm acquired in 1993 by Disney.[24] He is Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds, which he co-founded in 2000 with Danny Hillis. Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" patent, which features prominently in its legal battle with Samsung, was invalidated by the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2013 based on a 2005 patent by Ferren and Hillis for multi-touch gestures.[25][26][27]

  1. ^ Phelan, J. Greg (February 26, 1995). "Sound Bytes; Disney's Virtual Visionary". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "How Smart Are You?". Discover. December 3, 2003. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  3. ^ "Smithsonian 2.0 Conference Participants". Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "Talking Back to the Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Designing Bits & Pieces: Creativity; Design & Materials; and Sensors, Actuators & Displays". Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  6. ^ "Renaissance Bran". Lights Magazine. January 26, 2016. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "pomegranate arts – Laurie Anderson – artists". Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  8. ^ "An Architect of Special Effects Builds for Himself". The New York Times. January 4, 1990. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  9. ^ "Lockheed Martin's Center for Innovation". Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Maximog: A scientist builds the ultimate vehicle for field research". Discover. June 1, 2003. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "MAXIMOG". Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "The Bill of Rights Tour: safeguarding freedom's symbol" (PDF). Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Theater: 'Frankenstein' Has Premiere at Palace". The New York Times. January 5, 1981. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  14. ^ Gussow, Mel (May 3, 1984). "Theater: 'Spookhouse'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  15. ^ "Welcome to the Machine: The story of Pink Floyds live sound". Retrieved January 16, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ Champlin, Charles (September 12, 1989). "Bran Ferren: Master of Arts and Sciences". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  17. ^ "Harvard CPL Leadership Speaker Series: Bran Ferren". June 26, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2012 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "Bran Ferren". Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  19. ^ "Bran Ferren". The Entertainment Gathering. December 12, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  20. ^ "Applied Minds Think Remarkably". Wired. June 21, 2005. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  21. ^ "Patent Database Search Results: IN/bran AND IN/ferren in US Patent Collection". Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  22. ^ "Espacenet - Bibliographic data". worldwide.espacenet.com. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  23. ^ "Valley People". Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1999. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  24. ^ "Future Perfect: The Next Magic Kingdom". The New Yorker. October 20, 1997. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  25. ^ "Apple Loses Another Patent Relevant to Samsung Case". July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  26. ^ "Springs' Own Beats Apple: Pinch to Zoom patent goes to Bran Ferren". August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  27. ^ "Qualcomm brandishes Palm patents against Apple, seeks ITC ban on iPhone 8 and iPhone X". AppleInsider. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.