Given the British High Court ruling on the case of Lucasfilm vs. Andrew Ainsworth (see Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice), and the additional information available from the court documents, I thought it would be a good opportunity to build on the prior OPB article exploring the “prototype” Stormtrooper helmets (see Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets) trading in the marketplace as original and authentic precursors to the helmets used on set and filmed in Star Wars: A New Hope. [Read more…]
Archives for 2008
Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice
“Exoray” from the RPF is hosting a full HTML version of the High Court ruling on the case between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth in the legal dispute over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope. I have not had time to review the full ruling in detail, but thought readers would be interested in reviewing it first hand: [Read more…]
Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Let The Spin Begin
News reports are flooding in with regard to the Lucasfilm legal dispute over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope. This legal battle, transplanted from the United States to the UK, is between George Lucas and his Lucasfilm production company and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios. The High Court judge handed down his ruling today, and the outcome, or “victory”, is dependent upon who you ask or what news story you might be reading. One headline reads “Lucas Wins Stormtrooper Case” while another proclaims “Judge’s force is with stormtroooper helmet designer“, which would lead one to believe The Guardian probably has it correct: “George Lucas reaches stalemate in legal battle over Star Wars stormtroopers“. [Read more…]
Friday the 13th Collector Expresses Doubts About Props in the Marketplace
Mario Kirner, a collector of original props and wardrobe from the Friday the 13th series of films, has published a series of articles analyzing some props/costume parts trading in the marketplace that he feels are not consistent with what is seen on screen nor the confirmed authentic pieces in private collections. This analysis can be found on his website, FridayThe13thProps.de. [Read more…]
More eBay/PayPal Integration Via Dispute & Resolution Processes
Per “The Chatter – eBay’s Blog About The Company and the Community”, changes have been made to eBay’s “Resolution Center” and PayPal’s “Dispute Console” that integrates the two dispute processes for those applicable transactions. PayPal policy changes also offer buyers more incentives to use PayPal for payment on eBay. This is further evidence of ongoing efforts and trends in which PayPal as a method of payment is becoming ubiquitous with transactions made on eBay, PayPal’s parent company. [Read more…]
eBay’s “puttieface”, “votehillary” No Longer a Registered User
The eBay seller “puttieface”, who changed his username to “votehillary” following my December 2007 article (see eBay’s puttieface & Entertainment Movie Props and …”votehillary” Update) has had his account suspended on eBay, showing a status of “No longer a registered user” and “Not a registered user”. [Read more…]
Comic-Con 2008: Event Recap & My Personal Experience
I thought I’d share my own personal impressions and experiences about Comic-Con International 2008 in San Diego, to close out my series of articles and features on the event. Some bits admittedly off topic… [Read more…]
Premier Collectibles Auction Results for Original Props
As reported in April and May (see Premier Collectible Auctions – Catalog Out, Online Bidding Live), a new venture called Premier Collectibles launched with a auction held during and in proximity to the Comic-Con International 2008 in San Diego last week. While predominently a toy/action figure auction event, there were some original props and costumes, so I thought it would be appropriate to make note of the results below. [Read more…]