Andrew Ainsworth did NOT design the stormtroopers-he manufactured them (using innovative and brilliant methods as he is a very talented craftsman).He is NOT selling stuff from the original molds-most,if not all,of stormtrooper experts will tell you there are simply too many differences from the originals for them to be from the original production molds.He IS breaching international copyright and trademark laws and using another company's intellectual property rights-any other company doing so would be nailed to the wall.Up until last year he was in an incredible display of foolishness using the trademarked LFL images of the Imperial cog and rebel alliance insignia on his helmets-another example of blatant copyright infringement.LFL are going after him,by the way,because he has made a substantial sum of money from these and other businesses,such as Master Replicas,Rubies et al have to pay licensing fees to Lucasfilm so why should SDS be any different?
He was given ample opportunity to avoid this as C & D orders were issued and he ignroed them.Way to piss off LFL!
Dont believe the hype in this case.The truth will come out.LFL already won this case last year in California and were awarded $20 million in damages and it was well justified and I believe the ruling will be upheld in the High Court.SDS really dont have a legal leg to stand on and there are other things that are going to come out in this case over the next while and the actual truth about the stormtrooper helmets will become clear.
Look for an interview on my site with Brian Muir after the conclusion of the case which will have some great insights into this case and his work on the film