Stormtrooper Battle Returns To British Courts

LONDON (AP) — The George Lucas empire struck back Tuesday against a British prop designer who sold replicas of the iconic Stormtrooper uniforms from the "Star Wars" movies.

Designer Andrew Ainsworth has fought a long legal battle against Lucasfilm Ltd., which sued him over the replica suits and helmets he sold through a Web site.

Ainsworth sculpted the Stormtrooper helmets for the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977 and later sold replicas of the molded white uniforms, worn in the films by warriors of the evil Galactic Empire.

The case ended ambiguously at London's High Court last year. A judge ruled that Ainsworth had violated Lucas's U.S. copyright, but rejected a copyright claim against him under British law, saying the costumes were not works of art.

The judge also refused to enforce in Britain a US$20 million judgment Lucasfilm won against Ainsworth in a California court in 2006, saying Ainsworth's U.S. sales were not significant enough to make him susceptible to U.S. jurisdiction.

Now lawyers for Lucas want the Court of Appeal to rule that the suits are sculptures and therefore works of art covered by British copyright law.