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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Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Second Amendment Rights

As reported back in March (see U.S. Supreme Court Examines Constitution’s Second Amendment, Right to Bear Arms), there has been much anticipation since last year over the U.S. Supreme Court’s examination of the Second Amendment to the Constitution – the “right to bear arms”. The case stems from a challenge to the constitutionality of the handgun ban in Washington D.C. [Read more…]

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More eBay Policy Developments Regarding PayPal

A friend and fellow collector in the UK sent me some information he encountered in listing items for sale on eBay (ebay.co.uk), that reveal more policy changes unfolding in regards to further PayPal integration with the auction service. This is related to an article published last week about “PayPal Only” developments in Australia (see ““PayPal Only” eBay Developments In The News“). [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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Deactivated Firearms & UK Restrictions – Update

This is a follow-up to an article posted a few days ago, “More Potential Restrictions in the UK – Deactivated Firearms May Be Banned“, which referenced an article from the Press Association reporting on the Home Secretary commenting about outlawing deactivated firearms.

Also of interest are previous reports about restrictions in the UK – “Research & Dialogue About Importing Firearms to the UK” and the “Update” to that article – which raised issues and questions related to the implementation of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 in the UK and the affect of that legislation on prop collectors and dealers.

Stephen Lane of The Prop Store of London has provided some additional information today in regards to these developments, and a request of UK-based original prop hobbyists that have deactivated firearms in their collections: [Read more…]

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More Potential Restrictions in the UK – Deactivated Firearms May Be Banned

This is an pertinent to the prior articles (Research & Dialogue About Importing Firearms to the UK, the Update to that article), which raised issues and questions related to the implementation of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 in the UK and the affect of this legislation on prop collectors and dealers. Thanks to Simon Lee of DieHardProps.com for the heads up on this new development. [Read more…]

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The Last Samurai? UK to Ban “Imitation” Swords…

According to recent news reports, there is a plan to outlaw replica and imitation Samurai swords in England beginning April 2008. Under this plan, those in violation of this proposed law will face stiff fines and up to six months in jail. It appears that exemptions will include genuine Japanese swords owned by collectors and enthusiasts.

This is an interesting development, following the October 1, 2007 implementation of new laws in the UK restricting the manufacture, import, and sale of imitation firearms under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (see “Research & Dialogue About Importing Firearms to the UK“).

Obviously, this trend of banning replica/imitation firearms and now certain bladed weapons does have an impact on the collection of original props for hobbyists in the UK. [Read more…]