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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
LucasFilm LTD filed suit against Gen Con LLC for “breach of contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment” in regards to the Star Wars Celebration IV convention held in Los Angeles in May 2007.
According to the suit, LFL provided rare Star Wars memorabilia from the Archive to be auctioned (via a live auction and a silent auction) at the Celebration fan convention, with the net proceeds of the charity intended for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Per the suit, the auction events raised “at least $150,000 from the sale of LFL’s archive items”. [Read more…]
Article Summary: A review of the book, The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. [Read more…]