In a dispute over the name ‘Stellar Blade,’ game developer Shift Up and publisher Sony find themselves at odds with a film studio from Louisiana. The small production company carrying the name Stellarblade alleges that its business is being adversely affected by the game’s use of the same name, infringing on its trademark.
Stellarblade LLC, backed by owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, lodged the lawsuit against Shift Up, Sony, and an unnamed insurer allegedly providing liability coverage to Sony Interactive Entertainment. The accusations leveled by Stellarblade were submitted in a court of law in Louisiana, earlier this month.
Founded in 2010, Stellarblade LLC has been offering “multimedia entertainment services” spanning different products including films, documentaries, commercials, and music video production. It’s stated in the lawsuit that Mehaffey has operated the domain stellarblade.com since 2006, and has been using it professionally for his business purposes from 2011 onward.
During the initial announcement of the game by Shift Up, it was titled ‘Project Eve’ in 2019. The game was introduced to the public again in 2021, still bearing the same name. There was a shift in 2022 when the name was altered to Stellar Blade. In January 2023, Shift Up first lodged the trademark for the game. Meanwhile, Mehaffey secured the trademark for Stellarblade in June of the same year and proceeded to send a cease and desist note to Shift Up the following month.
Mehaffey now experiences difficulties in locating his own business on the internet. Any searches conducted for Stellarblade’s work direct users to content related to the game, Stellar Blade. Further, he alleges a strong similarity between the trademarks of his business and the game, citing their “confusingly similar” color schemes, logos, and styled ‘S’.
The relief sought by Mehaffey includes preventing the use of Stellar Blade or any comparable name by both Shift Up and Sony. Furthermore, he desires for any materials in their possession with “Stellar Blade” on them to be handed over, enabling Mehaffey to have these destroyed. Included in his claims are demands for compensation for damages and attorney fees.
“Serving the Stellarblade name for nearly 15 years and operating the stellarblade.com domain since 2006, Mr. Mehaffey’s rights to his business name are established,” stated Mehaffey’s legal representation. Drawing from this, the defending parties should have anticipated this ongoing issue and avoided adopting an identical mark. The lawyer added, “We respect healthy competition, but when larger organizations overlook smaller businesses’ rights, it is our duty to intervene and protect our brand. Mr. Mehaffey’s business finds itself in digital oblivion due to the superior resources of the defendants’ monopolizing online STELLARBLADE search results, placing a strain on the livelihood built over more than a decade.”
Launched in April of this year, Stellar Blade was receptive to general positive comments despite the ongoing dispute. The game garnered a 7/10 review score and was praised for its action-based gameplay. Aspects scrutinized and flagged up for improvements included less than interesting characters, a mundane storyline, and irritating elements obstructing the progression of the role-playing game (RPG) mechanics.
Whether this allegation will affect the game’s future development or marketing remains to be seen, and we will be following this court case closely. Continue to follow Awesome Radical Gaming at https://awesomeradicalgaming.com/ for more updates and the latest news in the gaming world.
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