Film production company Stellarblade sues Sony over Stellar Blade
Its owner claims the trademarks are "confusingly similar"
Louisiana-based film production company Stellarblade has filed a lawsuit against Stellar Blade developer Shift Up and Sony Interactive Entertainment for trademark infringement.
As seen by IGN, Stellarblade LLC and its owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey filed the complaint earlier this month.
Stellarblade was established in 2010, and Mehaffey claimed it has owned the URL stellarblade.com since 2006 and has been using it since 2011.
Shift Up initially announced Stellar Blade as Project Eve in 2019. The developer changed the title to Stellar Blade in 2022, and in January 2023, it registered Stellar Blade as a "video game-related trademark."
Mehaffey registered Stellarblade as a trademark in June 2023 and sent a cease and desist letter to Shift Up that July.
Mehaffey argued that the trademarks are "confusingly similar" and that online searches for Stellarblade bring up results for the video game rather than the production company.
Mehaffey has requested payment for an unspecified amount in damages and attorney fees and has called for Sony and Shift Up to be "prevented from using Stellar Blade or any other similar name." He has also requested that the companies hand over "all materials" containing Steller Blade for destruction.
"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," Mehaffrey's lawyer said.
"The defendants' far superior resources have effectively monopolised online search results for Stellarblade, pushing Mr Mehaffrey's long-established business into digital obscurity and threatening the livelihood he's built over more than a decade."