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[Topher]

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up and publisher Sony are being sued...over Stellar Blade. The plaintiff, a Louisiana-based film production company called, yes, Stellarblade, is alleging trademark infringement and claiming its business is being damaged by Shift Up's use of the name.

The complaint, which has been viewed by IGN, was filed in a Louisiana court earlier this month by Stellarblade LLC and owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey against Shift Up, Sony, and an unnamed insurance company that the plaintiff claims covers Sony Interactive Entertainment with liability insurance against the very allegations Stellarblade is bringing.

In the lawsuit, Stellarblade and Mehaffey claim that the Louisiana company has existed since 2010, providing "multimedia entertainment services" such as film, documentary, commercial, and music video production services. The lawsuit alleges that Mehaffey has owned stellarblade.com since 2006 and been using it in conjunction with his work since 2011.

Mehaffey notes that when Shift Up first announced its game, it was under the title Project Eve back in 2019 (it was re-revealed in 2021 at a PlayStation Showcase under the same name). However, the name was changed to Stellar Blade in 2022, and not long after in January of 2023, Shift Up first registered Stellar Blade as a video game-related trademark. Mehaffey registered his own trademark for Stellarblade in June of 2023, then send a cease and desist letter to Shift Up a month later.

Mehaffey claims that while previously, his customers were able to find information about his business easily, now people searching for Stellarblade's work on the internet only find Stellar Blade the video game. Additionally, he alleges the trademarks for his own business are "confusingly similar", citing the color schemes of both logos and the stylized S.

Mehaffey's request for relief includes asking that Shift Up and Sony be prevented from using Stellar Blade or any other name similar to it, as well as asking they hand over all materials in their possession with "Stellar Blade" on them so Mehaffey and Stellarblade can destroy them. Additionally, Mehaffey is asking to be paid for damages and attorney fees. IGN has reached out to PlayStation for comment.

Mehaffey's lawyer sent the following statement to IGN.

Mr. Mehaffey registered the stellarblade.com domain in 2006 and has used the STELLARBLADE name for his business for nearly 15 years. Given this long-standing and public use, it's difficult to imagine that Shift Up and Sony were unaware of Mr. Mehaffey's established rights before adopting their identical mark. 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. 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.

Stellar Blade launched back in April of this year, and we gave it a 7/10 on release. Our reviewer said it was "great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its RPG mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre."

It's Stellarblade Versus Stellar Blade as Louisiana Company Sues PlayStation and Shift Up Over Name - IGN

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up and publisher Sony are being sued...over Stellar Blade. The plaintiff, a Louisiana-based film production company called, yes, Stellarblade, is alleging trademark infringement and claiming its business is being damaged by Shift Up's use of the name.

www.ign.com

---

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Dumb btch probably mad he can't afford the pro

 

[R6Rider]

LMAO that stellarblade.com site is awful.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

LMAO I love patent trolls

 

[Skifi28]

And they were kind enough to wait a couple of years until the game got released and made a tidy profit.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Appears to be this guy

 

[DrMano]

Is the guy in the wrong here?
I know its a shitty move, but what if its actually hurting his business because whenever people google it they would get distracted by the big butt asian?

 

[LRKD]

When will we get to the point where literally everything is copyrighted?

 

[dispensergoinup]

"as well as asking they hand over all materials in their possession with "Stellar Blade" on them so Mehaffey and Stellarblade can destroy them. "

"destroy them" sure...uhuh!

 

[JayK47]

It is a generic name for the game.

 

[digital_ghost]

Beat me to it. Almost made my first thread.

I doubt that this guy will get Sony to stop selling the game. He wants all copies destroyed.

I guess he's going to break into all our houses and make sure we destroyed our Stellar Blade Disc's.

Time to lock my shit up tighter than Syndey Sweeney's pussy.

 

[Topher]

Appears to be this guy

I don't see the resemblance

 

[GHound]

In the lawsuit, Stellarblade and Mehaffey claim that the Louisiana company has existed since 2010, providing "multimedia entertainment services" such as film, documentary, commercial, and music video production services. The lawsuit alleges that Mehaffey has owned stellarblade.com since 2006 and been using it in conjunction with his work since 2011.

Mehaffey notes that when Shift Up first announced its game, it was under the title Project Eve back in 2019 (it was re-revealed in 2021 at a PlayStation Showcase under the same name). However, the name was changed to Stellar Blade in 2022, and not long after in January of 2023, Shift Up first registered Stellar Blade as a video game-related trademark. Mehaffey registered his own trademark for Stellarblade in June of 2023, then send a cease and desist letter to Shift Up a month later.

 

[jshackles]

Is the guy in the wrong here?

The text in the OP says the guy didn't file his own trademark on his business name until 5 months after the game released. So if he was serious about protecting his trademark, he should have done that sometime between 2010 and mid-2023. If he had, he would probably have a decent shot at the case. Since he waited until after the game launched and was hugely successful - probably not.

 

[LordCBH]

Who?

 

[graywolf323]

I don't see the resemblance

that’s exactly why his business is being hurt >_>

 

[R6Rider]

I don't see the resemblance

Is that one of the outfits in the game? Haven't played it since a few updates.

 

[Pejo]

Damn, first Eve was literally killing women, now she's killing businesses. When will this madwoman STOP?

 

[saintjules]

Appears to be this guy

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

The text in the OP says the guy didn't file his own trademark on his business name until 5 months after the game released. So if he was serious about protecting his trademark, he should have done that sometime between 2010 and mid-2023. If he had, he would probably have a decent shot at the case. Since he waited until after the game launched and was hugely successful - probably not.

I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but in Australia I think for memory even if you don't have it as registered TM and can show you've been trading using the name for some time you can get protection. Probably less so than if he had registered it in the first place though

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

A shitty move by a shitty person whose "business" is a shitty website not even his mom has ever checked out.

The judge should hammer him hard for wasting time and taxpayer money.

 

[jshackles]

I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but in Australia I think for memory even if you don't have it as registered TM and can show you've been trading using the name for some time you can get protection. Probably less so than if he had registered it in the first place though

That's more or less how it works here too (from my understanding, I am not a lawyer). Which is probably how he found legal representation to give it a shot and file the case to begin with. However, most judges will look at this claim and it's circumstances and toss it out right away on the grounds that he's chasing money and wasting people's time.

 

[PaintTinJr]

The text in the OP says the guy didn't file his own trademark on his business name until 5 months after the game released. So if he was serious about protecting his trademark, he should have done that sometime between 2010 and mid-2023. If he had, he would probably have a decent shot at the case. Since he waited until after the game launched and was hugely successful - probably not.

And if I'm reading it correctly, he was still able to get his trademark, because - I assume - the businesses don't compete in the same sphere.

Now with the precedent of Apple Records and Apple Music resolved because a computer company selling digital music in 2000 isn't in competition with a Record label formed in 1968 by the Beatles, I'm pretty sure his loss of business is just a result of how internet search is based on numbers to return the most likely correct answer.

 

[Synastry]

Is that one of the outfits in the game? Haven't played it since a few updates.

There are outfits that are similar in the game but the one in this picture no.

 

[Topher]

Is that one of the outfits in the game? Haven't played it since a few updates.

No idea. Haven't played it. A sports vest, white undershirt and nerdy glasses wouldn't be my first choice either way

 

[kiphalfton]

I don't see the resemblance

Brb his right hand is holding the book.
Brb his left hand is holding something else

 

[LectureMaster]

I don't see the resemblance

 

[StereoVsn]

Is the guy in the wrong here?
I know its a shitty move, but what if its actually hurting his business because whenever people google it they would get distracted by the big butt asian?

The issue is that he didn’t file his trademark prior to Shift Up. Not sure how this works since he does have proof he had his business for a while, but because he file later not sure he would win.

 

[newtypepilot]

In the lawsuit, Stellarblade and Mehaffey claim that the Louisiana company has existed since 2010, providing "multimedia entertainment services" such as film, documentary, commercial, and music video production services. The lawsuit alleges that Mehaffey has owned stellarblade.com since 2006 and been using it in conjunction with his work since 2011.

Mehaffey notes that when Shift Up first announced its game, it was under the title Project Eve back in 2019 (it was re-revealed in 2021 at a PlayStation Showcase under the same name). However, the name was changed to Stellar Blade in 2022, and not long after in January of 2023, Shift Up first registered Stellar Blade as a video game-related trademark. Mehaffey registered his own trademark for Stellarblade in June of 2023, then send a cease and desist letter to Shift Up a month later.

so it took him 12+ years to file the trademark and only AFTER Shiftup filed theirs.

yeah good luck with that.


This is the address on their website.
1775 North Columbia Street #2112, Covington, LA 70433, USA

If you look it up on google maps, it's the US postal office.

 

[jshackles]

This is the address on their website.
1775 North Columbia Street #2112, Covington, LA 70433, USA

If you look it up on google maps, it's the US postal office.

It's a PO Box (number #2112) - doesn't exactly make them illegitimate, but does scream "small-time"

 

[AmuroChan]

It's a PO Box (number #2112) - doesn't exactly make them illegitimate, but does scream "small-time"

If you look at the website, it's laughably amateurish.

 

[CityHunter1981]

Do I miss something here? The guy has no case here at all. It doesn’t matter if he used the name before, he didn’t had a trademark on it.

The video game trademark was filed January 2023 and his trademark followed later that year.
I am sure Sony did their job and checked first if the trademark was taken or not before registering it.

Seems like the guy is just trying to get some money because his business is failing (seems like it never was successful in the first place).
I wonder what kind of lawyer thinks there is actually a chance of winning.

 

[jshackles]

Seems like the guy is just trying to get some money because his business is failing (seems like it never was successful in the first place).
I wonder what kind of lawyer thinks there is actually a chance of winning.

Sometimes in cases like this, they're just hoping for either an out-of-court settlement or for Sony/Shift Up to not bother sending their lawyers to dispute the case, which could result in a default judgment.

 

[bender]

LMAO that stellarblade.com site is awful.

How dare you!

 

[ArtHands]

So Sony stole the name from Stellar Blade ? interesting

 

[Topher]

So Sony stole the name from Stellar Blade ? interesting

 

[jcorb]

Real talk; at what point are all eligible names simply “taken”?

Particular now that people are training bots to generate names to purchase domains for to squat, I think there comes a time when we may have to accept that not every company gets to have a name that’s unique.

 

[yogaflame]

As expected it is IGN who first release the news. I'm sure Kotaku and Thegamers will be next.

Money talks. Lawsuit is also a way to earn buck.

 

[Aenima]

So Sony stole the name from Stellar Blade ? interesting

Yup, they stole it from the English dictionary

 

[jshackles]

Real talk; at what point are all eligible names simply “taken”?

Particular now that people are training bots to generate names to purchase domains for to squat, I think there comes a time when we may have to accept that not every company gets to have a name that’s unique.

I mean, have you seen what they've been doing with anime and manga lately?

Stuff named Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town and I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness, and I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too exists and would difficult to name squat

 

[Cyber_hunter026]

So Sony stole the name from Stellar Blade ? interesting

 

[Madonis]

Stellar Blade isn't that great of a name, to be honest, but this is just a joke.

 

[digital_ghost]

Damn, first Eve was literally killing women, now she's killing businesses. When will this madwoman STOP?

She killed the worlds supply of kleenex too. Faps all round the world.

 

[demigod]

So Sony stole the name from Stellar Blade ? interesting

High IQ poster right here folks.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Mehaffey claims that while previously, his customers were able to find information about his business easily, now people searching for Stellarblade's work on the internet only find Stellar Blade the video game.

Sounds like his customers don't know how to perform web searches then. This would be like Adobe complaining their customers are getting search results for mud huts.

 

[Pimpbaa]

I don't see the resemblance

Wait, I don’t remember that outfit from the game. WTF?

Edit: Talking about the pic of Eve on the left, looks like some kinda modified or early version of her default outfit. Not a joke about the dork on the right.

 

[Kamina]

That’s like if Apple sued a super market for selling apples.