Feuer Frei!
07-27-11, 06:16 AM
A prop designer who made the original Stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars has won his battle with director George Lucas over his right to sell replicas.
Andrew Ainsworth, 62, of south London, successfully argued the costumes were functional not artistic works, and so not subject to full copyright laws.
Judges at the Supreme Court upheld a 2009 Court of Appeal decision allowing Mr Ainsworth to continue selling them.
But they also ruled that the director's copyright had been violated in the US.
Mr Ainsworth told the BBC: "This is a massive victory, a total victory, we've already got the champagne out."
He said he went to court on a principle and he was not going to allow the director to "buy his soul".
Both the Court of Appeal and the High Court had already ruled in Mr Ainsworth's favour in his multi-million pound battle with Mr Lucas's production company.
The father-of-two has been selling copies of his plastic composite armour and helmets - from the original 1977 film - for eight years.
He uses the same studio in Twickenham from which he made the original costumes, and charges up to £1,800.
In 2004, Lucasfilm sued for $20m (£12m) arguing he did not hold the intellectual property rights and had no right to sell them - a point upheld by a US court.
But the judgement could not be enforced because the designer held no assets in the US, so the battle moved to the UK.
The Star Wars creator, worth an estimated £2bn, claimed Mr Ainsworth was breaching his copyright.
SOURCE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14287864)
Andrew Ainsworth, 62, of south London, successfully argued the costumes were functional not artistic works, and so not subject to full copyright laws.
Judges at the Supreme Court upheld a 2009 Court of Appeal decision allowing Mr Ainsworth to continue selling them.
But they also ruled that the director's copyright had been violated in the US.
Mr Ainsworth told the BBC: "This is a massive victory, a total victory, we've already got the champagne out."
He said he went to court on a principle and he was not going to allow the director to "buy his soul".
Both the Court of Appeal and the High Court had already ruled in Mr Ainsworth's favour in his multi-million pound battle with Mr Lucas's production company.
The father-of-two has been selling copies of his plastic composite armour and helmets - from the original 1977 film - for eight years.
He uses the same studio in Twickenham from which he made the original costumes, and charges up to £1,800.
In 2004, Lucasfilm sued for $20m (£12m) arguing he did not hold the intellectual property rights and had no right to sell them - a point upheld by a US court.
But the judgement could not be enforced because the designer held no assets in the US, so the battle moved to the UK.
The Star Wars creator, worth an estimated £2bn, claimed Mr Ainsworth was breaching his copyright.
SOURCE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14287864)