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…]
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…]
Comic-Con 2008: Underworld Rise of the Lycans
Below are photos of a costumes and weapons featured in the upcoming Underworld: Rise of the Lycans film, on display at Comic-Con International 2008 in San Diego this week: [Read more…]
“The Wonderful World of Weta” BBC Video
There is a nice little video on BBC News providing good coverage of the props and costumes on display at the Royal Armouries (see “The Wonderful World of Weta” Exhibition in UK). [Read more…]
“The Wonderful World of Weta” Exhibition in UK
An exhibit featuring props and costumes from The Lord of The Rings, The Last Samurai, King Kong, Hellboy, and The Chronicles of Narnia will be running from July through November at the Royal Armouries in the UK. [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
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…]