Shepperton Design Studios is an England-based manufacturer of Star Wars replica props and memorabilia that was sued by Lucasfilm for copyright infringement.
The company was founded by Andrew Ainsworth, who was asked in January 1976 to manufacture first the helmets, then the body armour for the Imperial stormtroopers (based on pre-existing sculpts from Liz Moore[1] and Brian Muir[2]) in the classic Star Wars films.
In 2004, Shepperton Design Studios claimed to have discovered in their possession one of the moulds used to create the original helmets, and began production of new replicas from them.
In addition, they claimed that Ainsworth was not under a formal contract with Lucasfilm when assigned to produce the helmets, and that copyright in the design was vested in him, stating that SDS would counterclaim for a percentage of merchandising profits.
[5] The legal proceedings in the English High Court began on 8 April 2008 and continued for three weeks, with Lucasfilm represented by Michael Bloch QC.