Shepperton Design Studios Expands Line of “Post Lawsuit” Unlicensed Replica Star Wars Props

Following legal battles in both the United States and the United Kingdom over the sale unlicensed Stormtrooper helmets – which resulted in both Andrew Ainsworth’s Shepperton Design Studios and George Lucas’ Lucasfilm Ltd. claiming victory – Ainsworth’s SDS today announced the sale of “E11 Blasters”, that boast “all the features of the most complicated blaster used in ANH“. Read more

Cross-Hobby Buzz & Questions About Unfinished/Incomplete Stormtrooper Helmet

In October, there was a significant amount of buzz, discussion, and questions about a Stormtrooper helmet presented to hobbyists publicly and described as original and attributed to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.  These debates resulted from the owner of the helmet, “JoeR”, initiating discussions about the newly acquired piece on several original and replica prop hobby discussion forums.  Read more

Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets Update: High Court Ruling Excerpts on LFL v. SDS Case

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

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

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 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

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