Stormtrooper Designer gets sued for $20 Million

A British designer is preparing to do battle with Star Wars creator George Lucas over the right to make and sell replica Stormtrooper costumes.

Andrew Ainsworth, of Shepperton Design Studios, helped design dozens of costumes for the 1977 Star Wars film. Lucasfilm, which owns the Star Wars franchise, sued Mr Ainsworth for $20m (£10m) when the company found out he was selling replica outfits in 2004. Last month, a judge in California awarded Lucasfilm damages of $20m.

The court found that Shepperton Design Studios had been marketing unlicensed copies of Stormtrooper helmets and costumes, and TIE fighter pilot , as well as making misleading claims about the authenticity and origins of the items.

Read the full article over at the BBC site