Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court

[pmwasson]

BBC News - Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court

[jessica]

Wow. Amazing!

[johnmiic]

I totally disagree with this ruling.

[toys2cool]

good for him I say, it was his mold and his design

[MicromanZone]

It’s not that clear cut. It looks like Andrew Ainsworth really is cashing in and ripping off the original artists to developed the stormtrooper helmet. So the issue is Lucas cashing in on other’s work or Ainsworth cashing in on other’s works and the original creators are still screwed:
Original ANH Stormtrooper helmet and Armor - Just the Facts

[Brazoo]

Propmakers who have nothing directly to do with Star Wars make a lot of money from recreating new props. People on here sell Star Wars stuff they make all the time.

Legal or not - it's impossible to stop and it's the reality of making something as popular as Star Wars.

[johnmiic]

I know we all like to root for the underdog and Lucas is not as respected as he once was but this guy made these helmets working for Lucas in 1976 on the first film. He was hired to make props for a production. The article details how he still had the original moulds from the prototype which he made over 30 years ago. The characters and designs from Star Wars are copyrighted by Lucas & FOX.

Lucas probably should have settled out-of-court and negotiated a licsence with this guy to make official props in the UK. This is similar to what happened to a prop-maker named Richard A. Coyle who used to make excellent Star Trek Props but Paramount jerked the guy around for years. Coyle was sued but eventually got a licsence and works for Rodenberry.com making high end replicas now.

So, how did the young industrial design graduate, who experimented with plastic mouldings...land the Star Wars job in 1976?

...A puppeteer friend of his, Nick Pemberton, had been asked to make a clay mock up of the Stormtrooper helmets after meeting the then largely unknown George Lucas at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.

Mr Pemberton started the job, based on the original drawings by Ralph McQuarry, but had little experience of plastics, so handed it on to Mr Ainsworth saying "give me a drink if anything comes of it".

"I spent two days on it and made a prototype and Lucas said 'great, I'll have 50'," Mr Ainsworth recalls. "As we moved into armour and got through the first shoot in Tunisia, the whole thing gathered momentum.

[Hector]

Poor Georgie...I hope he doesn't end up on skid row after this ruling...heaven forbid...

[johnmiic]

^^^Look, I know George has made billions off Star Wars and even with the money this prop guy is raking in-it won't put a big dent in George's income. It still doesn't make it right for the guy to be pumping out high-end props. Just because George got rich off us doesn't make him wrong either. The second link seems to make a case that the guy is a liar as well. So maybe he didn't make the original props after all.

Now the case is settled more people will make high-end props and not just of Star Wars. All the sought-after sci-fi franchises will be up for grabs based on this ruling and that will impact all the big studios.

[MicromanZone]

Johnmiic is right. Few folks realize that while Lucasfilm is currently a cash cow, George Lucas is ultimately an independent filmmaker. ESB and ROTJ were independent productions that 20th Century Fox has distribution rights on. The original Star Wars was owned by 20th Century Fox up until recently because George Lucas was not in any position to negotiate in the 1970s over it.

Say what you will about George Lucas (and I think the prequels are utter dreck) but at least he’s an independent film maker playing by his own rules. Too bad he has no vision nowadays beyond regurgitating Star Wars dreck. Maybe the millions his kids will get will lead to some real/cool stuff.

[Hector]

Poor Georgie.

Seriously, I'm so sick and tired of Lucas already...I have little sympathy for him nowadays...wronged or not.

Sorry, I respect your opinions...this is just my own take on the matter, guys.

[jds1911a1]

Lucas has screwed fans who have been wanting full official armor for 30 years forcing fans who want to troop to make pvc or fiberglass copies at home and DoItYourself them or buy a set someone else DIY'd off ebay. For the prices the fake armor costs this real correct stuff is awesome. Each side claims partial victory as Lucas blocked him from selling to the massive US based Troops of the 501st but at least all the commonwealth fans can buy it instead of some garage kit.

IF lucas was selling their own armor kits like they do clone helmets I might feel differently but he has flatly stated he will not sell full armor

SO I am in the fabricator's corner

[Adam West]

I totally disagree with this ruling.

I also disagree with this ruling. Forget about Lucas and his billions, now anyone who wants to remake any costume prop from a film released 15 years ago is allowed to according to this ruling. Something is not right about this.

[Gorn Captain]

If Lucas were to be sued by everyone HE has "borrowed" ideas from, he'd be broke. I still admire the man, and SW did change my life, but I now know that a lot of what I thought to be from his imagination is, often for a large part, lifted from previous sources. OK, so he didn't make a decent agreement with this man. Well, settle out of court, pay some money, and make sure it doesn't happen again.
He should have come to an agreement instead of sending in the Shock Troopers.

And now I have to get back to my Ewok puppy mill. Those furry buggers are selling like hotcakes!
Let's hope George doesn't come to Belgium...

[CrimsonGhost]

This is definitely a bad decision. Lucas paid this guy to create a model based on designs that Lucas also paid to have designed. Lucas owns the rights to those models, this guy doesn't own crap.