Wednesday 4 November 2009

Oh dear, London Designer feels the Might of the Empire



Designer Andrew Ainsworth is currently in a legal fight with Lucasfilm due to replica Storm Trooper costumes he sold over the Internet.

Ainsworth made Storm Trooper helmets for the original Star Wars Movie - A New Hope then later went on to sell unlicensed replicas of these plus replicas of the full white iconic armour.

The original court hearing ended last year at London's High Court. Ainsworth was judged to have violated Lucas's U.S. copyright, but a copyright claim against him was rejected under British law. This was because, it was deemed, the costumes were not works of art.

Lucasfilm have appealed this stating the costumes should be seen as works of art under British Law as they should be classified as sculptures due to the nature in which they are made. Lucasfilm wish to enforce a US$20 million judgment won against Ainsworth in a California court in 2006.

The case is scheduled to last three days. The London Designer may have a bad feeling about this.

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