BRITAIN G20 SUMMIT PROTESTS

In 1976, Andrew Ainsworth, an industrial designer, was hired to make fifty Stormtrooper helmets (£20 each) for Star Wars.  He also made equipment for other characters in the series, earning around £30,000 in total.  George Lucas, meanwhile, has made over $10 billion off Star Wars merch according to some estimates (we write numbers on the ground then release a cow, and whichever number she craps on is the estimate).

Five years ago, Ainsworth pulled his mould out of storage and started selling replica Stormtrooper helmets.  Lucas has sued, of course.  California has awarded Lucas $20 million in damages, even though only 19 of the helmets were ever sold in the United States.  Over $1 million per helmet?  Lucas must have the same lawyers as the RIAA.  Meanwhile, the courts in Britain haven’t been as generous:

Mr Justice Mann ruled that the models were not sculptures and so did not have copyright protection, which would extend 70 years beyond the death of their creator. Instead he ruled that the models were industrial designs, which could be protected for only 15 years.  Yesterday Lord Justices Rix, Jacob and Patten agreed, dismissing Lucasfilm’s appeal. They said that the helmet and armour had a “utilitarian” rather than artistic purpose. They also ruled that Lucasfilm could not enforce its US copyright in Britain, but agreed that Mr Ainsworth did not own the copyright. [timesonline]

On the one hand, voiding the copyright on something from a film after only 15 years on the grounds that it’s industrial seems like an insult to the cinema.  On the other hand, every time George Lucas loses out on another million dollars, I scratch a notch in my bedpost and scream “Excelsior!”  So it’s a toss up.