In this case the defendant, a propmaker, had been commissioned between 1974 and 1976 by the claimants to produce several prototype helmets to be worn by Stormtroopers in the movie Star Wars. His prototypes were approved and he made 50 helmets for use in the film.
In 2004 the defendant began making and selling versions of the helmets. The claimants successfully sued the defendant in the US courts for breaches of copyright. Their claims, however, were dismissed in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The claimants had argued that the helmets were examples of a ‘sculpture’ protected under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. In the High Court the judge disagreed, stating that the helmets were not sculptures, but instead a mixture of costume and prop, with their main function being utilitarian.
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