Game Lawsuit Complicates

An American film production company has alleged trademark infringement against Sony and developer Shift Up over the PS5 action-adventure hit, Stellar Blade.

Stellar Blade Sued By “Stellarblade” for Trademark InfringementBoth Trademarks Duly Registered

Shift Up, the developer of PS5 action-adventure hit Stellar Blade, and Sony Interactive Entertainment have been sued by a film production company called "Stellarblade." The film company, based in the US state of Louisiana, alleged trademark infringement and lodged the case in a Louisiana court earlier this month.

Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, the owner of the Stellarblade film company, claimed that their business, which provides specializations on "Commercials, Documentaries, Music Videos & Independent Films," has been "damaged" by Sony Interactive Entertainment and Shift Up's use of the name "Stellar Blade" for the game. Mehaffey further remarked that the use of the name has impeded on their business' visibility on the web, claiming that customers who intend to look up "Stellarblade" now have a harder time landing on pertinent information due to "Stellar Blade" search results.

Mehaffey's request from the Court included monetary damages and attorney fees, as well as an injunction which will prevent Shift Up and Sony Interactive Entertainment from using the "Stellar Blade" trademark, and any other variance of the name for the matter. Likewise, he requested the Court for all "Stellar Blade" materials in possession of the game companies to be transferred to Mehaffey and his company Stellarblade so they can "destroy them."

Mehaffey registered the "Stellarblade" trademark in June 2023 and subsequently issued a cease and desist letter to Stellar Blade developer Shift Up the following month. In the lawsuit, Mehaffey claimed that he has since been the owner of the stellarblade.com website since 2006 which has been used in conjunction with operation of his film production company starting 2011.

In a statement to IGN, Mehaffey's lawyer said that it is "difficult to imagine that Shift Up and Sony were unaware of Mr.Mehaffey's established rights before adopting their identical mark." For further context, Stellar Blade was first announced under the working title "Project Eve" in 2019, with its name subsequently changed to "Stellar Blade" in 2022. The following year of 2023 in January, Shift Up had reportedly registered the "Stellar Blade" trademark for the studio's blockbuster PS5 debut. Meanwhile, it has been found that Mehaffey had registered the "Stellarblade" trademark in June of 2023, months following Shift Up's filing of the similar name.

"Mr. Mehaffey registered the stellarblade.com domain in two thousand and six and has used the STELLARBLADE name for his business for nearly fifteen years. We believe in fair competition, but when larger companies disregard the established rights of smaller businesses, it's our responsibility to stand up and protect our brand," Mehaffey's lawyer told IGN in their statement. "The defendants’ far superior resources have effectively monopolized online search results for STELLARBLADE, pushing Mr. Mehaffey's long-established business into digital obscurity and threatening the livelihood he's built over more than a decade." Furthermore, Mehaffey argued that both of the logos, as well as the stylized letter 'S' in both names, are grounds for the matter and which he had described to be "confusingly similar."

It is worth noting, in addition, that the rights of a trademark owner generally can apply retroactively, meaning the trademark protection extends beyond the scope of the filing date of the trademark.