Jamil El-Imad and Jesús Hormigo Cebolla conceived the Virtually Live method and system in 2008. Their idea was to create a media method that would take all the active elements of an event and transpose it in real time to a platform whereby people could feel a ‘sense of presence’ in the event. The media method would “capture all the telemetry and motion of an event, place it in a simulator, then bring the fans in to experience it.”[3] Their technology was invented and patented globally from 2009 onwards.
In 2010, the European Patent Office granted patents across 38 designated states: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Switzerland/Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Turkey.[4] In 2011, the patent was granted in South Africa. In 2012, patents were granted in Singapore[5] and the USA.[6]