Smash Cut

One of the more curious movie-related court cases in recent years has completed another chapter, with both sides claiming victory. In one corner is George Lucas and his company Lucasfilm Ltd. In the other: British designer Andrew Ainsworth of Shepperton Design Studios, who happens to have created the highly memorable, damned-near-iconic uniforms for the Stormtrooper soldiers in Lucas’s Star Wars saga.

Lucasfilm has been pursuing Ainsworth because the latter sold some Stormtrooper uniform replicas and helmets to Americans through his personal website, and the company cried foul, claiming that the designer infringed their copyright. Ainsworth felt that because he created the outfit, it was his right to sell it anywhere.

In 2006, a California court ruled that Ainsworth owed Lucasfilm $20 million for selling the uniforms to customers in the United States, the territory in which they own the Stormtrooper copyright. However, in a new court ruling, English High Court judge Anthony Mann has stated that while Ainsworth did, in fact, violate that copyright, his sales to United States customers totaled approximately $50,000 to $60,000. The amounts, according to Mann, were not high enough to make him susceptible to U.S. jurisdiction. Furthermore, Mann noted that under British law, the English copyright to the costume designs had expired, so Ainsworth is free to sell his replicas everywhere except the States.

Lucasfilm lawyer Mark Owen has touted victory for his side, saying, “At the end of the day, there is an order that Mr. Ainsworth infringed our copyright, and the next stage of the case will be discussing remedies for that.”

Judge Mann said that a hearing would be held in autumn to determine the terms of that next stage. The saga continues….