George Lucas loses court appeal

George Lucas’s empire failed to strike back in the Court of Appeal today as he lost a multimillion-pound legal battle with the British creator of the Star Wars stormtrooper helmets.

Andrew Ainsworth recently began selling replicas of helmets and armour made from his original mould, prompting a $20 million (£12 million) lawsuit from Lucasfilm, Mr Lucas’s company. But yesterday a court agreed that he had not broken any British law — because his creations were not art.

“It’s taken five years but I think this should be just about the end of it,” Mr Ainsworth told The Times this morning. He is now recruiting sales and marketing staff and planning a big expansion of his memorabilia company.

Lucasfilm vowed to take the case to Britain’s new Supreme Court, saying that famous props such as the Daleks from Doctor Who could be freely copied under the Appeal Court’s ruling.


You can read rest of the story on UK Times Online

Orlando Stars Wars event will be amongst the largest ever held

The Force will be with you — but not until August 2010.Lucasfilm and Reed Exhibitions will host Star Wars Celebration V, a celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back at the Orange County Convention Center, Aug. 12-15.

Registration for the event began Thursday. Star Wars Celebration V is expected to be one of the largest official Star Wars fan events ever — featuring cast and crew celebrities, fan-run events, costumes, music, live entertainment, screenings, autographs, collectibles, panels and sneak peaks into the future of Star Wars. Lucasfilm Ltd. launched Star Wars Celebrations in 1999. Since then, the official Star Wars “parties” have become mega events, attracting tens of thousands of loyal and devoted fans and families. To date, there have been four Star Wars Celebrations in America, as well as a Star Wars Celebration Europe 2007) and Star Wars Japan (2008).Star Wars Celebration V will be the first Star Wars Celebration produced jointly with Reed PopGroup, which is responsible for the successful New York Comic Con, the new Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) and more.“We’re going to have a blast commemorating the 30th anniversary of fan-favorite The Empire Strikes Back as we welcome an entire new generation of fans watching our animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” said Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm’s head of Fan Relations. “There’s no doubt that Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando will be the ‘must attend’ event for Star Wars fans of all ages and from all parts of the galaxy,” he added. “We’re also very excited to launch our partnership with Reed PopGroup, which has shown great expertise in running large, fun-filled events that satisfy fans, show participants, and exhibitors. We’re expecting the biggest and best Celebration to date.”


Rest of the Article can be found at http://oscnewsgazette.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5252&Itemid=9