The Color Kinetics interactive lighting feature spans the entire structure and took seven days of rigging and many months of planning to install.

Color Kinetics, a five-year-old lighting company based in Boston, calculates that the various chips it packages with computer controls can generate up to 16.7 million colors.

It turns out that Color Kinetics had filed an application for Patent 20020113555, for a "lighting entertainment system," on Dec. 20, 2000.

While the patent was pending, Color Kinetics had already been selling products.

How many people does it take to change a Color Kinetics light fixture?

Color Kinetics, an initial public offering of 4 million shares.

Color Kinetics, 3.6 million shares.

(Made by Color Kinetics, the fixtures are called ColorBlast 12 and cost about $750 each.)

But Color Kinetics, a start-up company that specializes in light-emitting-diode technology, has filed what seems to be a similar application.

Color Kinetics, 4 million shares.