Awhile back we told you the story of Andrew Ainsworth, the UK prop designer. Ainsworth was responsible for designing and creating the stormtrooper helmets that were in the original 1977 film. Since then, he has taken those rare molds and tools he’d used and made replica helmets for collectors and cosplayers in the UK and abroad. But the question was whether or not the replicas constituted infringement on Lucas’ intellectual property or not. Lucas had filed a lawsuit, when he alleged that they discovered that the company was selling to the US market. But Ainsworth has denied doing so.
The case went all the way to the British high court and they ruled in favor of Ainsworth stating that replicas are not works of art and therefore are not covered by copyright in the UK. This means that the company is free to continue to make and sell the helmets, as well as other Star Wars replicas, just not to those in the US. This is fine for the prop designer. He says that he had no intention of doing so anyway, and so it’s business as usual. He did say that he felt as though David had successfully gone up against Goliath in this case and we have to agree.
The ruling is very different than the law in the US. In the states, the British high court even acknowledged in their decision, that copyright law includes movie props and other memorabilia whether it’s considered a work of art or not. This would put the helmets square against the law and Lucas did manage to sue the creator for $20 million in a US court earlier.
When asked about the case, a Lucas spokesman reiterated that the company would do everything in its power and within the law to insure that their rights for their property is protected and would continue to do so in the future, despite this loss.
And finally if you are in the UK and want the real deal, these stormtrooper helmets sell for 199 British pounds, while the armor goes for 599 pounds. They also have other things like Imperial Pilot helmets, X-Wing helmets, etc, on their website at sdsprops.com.
