Troopers on trial

[tikistitch]

'Star Wars' Costume Maker Battles George Lucas Over Rights to Stormtroopers

LONDON — By Saturday evening the humdrum office of a firm of London solicitors could have been mistaken for a distant outpost of the Galactic Empire.

Between the desks were the white suits and helmets that are known to "Star Wars" aficionados the world over as the uniform of the Imperial Stormtrooper.

The lawyers working late that night were preparing to do battle with the opposing legal armies of George Lucas, the creator of the "Star Wars" films, over who owns the copyright on the stormtrooper uniforms, the headgear of the imperial fighter pilots and the helmet designed for Luke Skywalker as he led the final assault on the Death Star in the first film of the original trilogy.

Lucas’s business empire claims that it owns all the rights to the uniforms, while the lawyers at SimmonsCooperAndrew will argue that the rights are in fact vested in an obscure prop designer from Twickenham, England, who made the first helmets and suits for the 1977 film.

On Tuesday morning, the opposing sides as well as the assorted stormtrooper suits and helmets will arrive in the Chancery Division of the High Court.

The cool thing? They still dress in the traditional finery in Ye Olde England, so there will be these dudes in powdered wigs prancing around debating stormtrooper armor! It's so awesome.

Comments

[jeepersjournal.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that LFilm's concept art archives will help them out. But the powdered wigs thing is funny :)
Here, they just wear the robes.