Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

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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…]

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Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets

Over the past several years, one issue that has been discussed among hobbyists from time to time relates to questions about Stormtrooper helmets characterized as “prototypes” and attributed to the production of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope. A number of hobbyists do not believe these helmets are indeed prototypes (precursors to the helmets made for and used in A New Hope) but made following that production, which would classify them as non-Original or replicas. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth Trial Watch: CNN Business Blog

There has been relatively sparse reporting since last week on the 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 now from the United States to the UK, is between George Lucas and his Lucasfilm production company and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios. I thought I would monitor the news and post short updates as I come across them. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth Stormtrooper Helmet Legal Battle Explodes in Mainstream Media

Similar to the news story with the collector filing suit against Christie’s and CBS Paramount late last year (see “Star Trek Collector Sues Christies, CBS & Paramount Studios for $7 Million Dollars“), the story of the legal battle between George Lucas and his Lucasfilm production company and Andrew Ainsworth and his Shepperton Design Studios seems to have captured the interest of the mainstream media, only in this case, the story is much more international. This legal dispute is over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope. This story has broken very wide, in the last day especially, with well over 150 related stories showing up in Google searches yesterday into today. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm, Andrew Ainsworth Legal Battle Moves to UK

The Guardian reports that the Lucasfilm lawsuit against Andrew Ainsworth over the Stormtrooper armor trademark and copyright dispute moves to UK courts tomorrow. [Read more…]

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Raiders of the Lost Ark “God of Light” Prop Wall Plaque – Update 1

Though I just posted the original article a few hours ago, I came across an auction on eBay that sheds some light on the Raiders of the Lost Ark wall plaque offered in Profiles in History that matches one seen on YourProps.com listed as a replica casting attributed to Elstree Props. [Read more…]