Lucasfilm v Ainsworth (Supreme Court) [2011] UKSC 39

• Defendant had manufactured helmets for use in the Star Wars films, and some years later had made helmets for general sale in England and the US.

• Claimant, the companies owned by George Lucas, alleged this act of sale was an infringement of Claimant’s copyright in respect of the helmets; Claimant claimed the helmets were ‘sculptures’, and therefore fell under CDPA1988s.4.

• Held by Supreme Court:

Lord Walker and Collins

• Where function of the object is primarily utilitarian, is not sculpture.

• However mere fact that something has utilitarian purpose does not prevent it being sculpture if its primary purpose is artistic.

• A stormtroopers’ helmet is utilitarian

  • This because it was made entirely in order to fulfil a purpose within a film.

    • I.e. it was simply a prop designed to contribute to the overall artistic effect of the film

  • The artistic expression and imagination that went into the helmet was simply to fulfil a utilitarian purpose

    • Therefore fact that object was result of artistic expression did not suffice to make it sculpture given its entirely functional purpose

• Hence stormtrooper helmets are not sculpture, and therefore do not qualify for copyright as ‘artistic works’.