Stormtrooper incourt for Star Wars legal fight

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - A judge in a wig and gown gazed down on a Stormtrooper costume and nine masks from the "Star Wars" films at London's High Court on Tuesday at the start of a high-profile copyright case.

George Lucas, creator of the blockbuster intergalactic sagas, and his billion-dollar merchandising arm are suing Andrew Ainsworth, a small-scale prop designer who sells replicas of the film characters from his southwest London studio.

Lucasfilm and related parties have already won a 2006 court case against Ainsworth in California, where the judge awarded the firm $20 million in damages, and they are now seeking to have a similar ruling enforced in Britain.

According to a short summary of the case provided by Ainsworth's lawyers, he argues that the copyright on the items in the courtroom has expired, and even if it has not, that he owns it, and not Lucas.

"Hence the defendants are counterclaiming in respect of unauthorised making and issue, distribution and sale of toys and costumes which are copies of the disputed items."

Michael Bloch, lawyer for Lucasfilm Ltd, opened proceedings by arguing that the design for the Stormtroopers and other key characters from the films were well advanced by the time Ainsworth was asked to produce the costumes in 1976.

"By the time Mr. Ainsworth was brought in to make the Stormtrooper helmet, the look to be created had been worked on by a large number of people for perhaps more than a year," he said.

The designs "were pretty well fixed in 1975 and they involve the initial idea of George Lucas worked on then by Ralph McQuarrie and others." McQuarrie was the conceptual artist and design consultant for the original "Star Wars" trilogy.