“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…]
Tiffany & Co. Loses Lawsuit Against eBay
As touched on in a related report two weeks ago (see French Court Orders eBay to Pay $61 Million for Sale of Counterfeit Goods), TIffany & Co. initiated a lawsuit against eBay with regard to the high number of counterfeit Tiffany goods being sold on the auction website. The U.S. District Court judge in New York ruled yesterday that eBay Inc. fulfilled its legal obligation and took adequate precautions to block the sale of counterfeit jewelry on its site. This marks a significant victory for eBay in battling luxury companies suing the auction giant for not effectively policing its e-commerce website for fraud. [Read more…]
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…]
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…]