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The developer of ‘Stellar Blade’ has hinted at the possibility of a …
Bang Showbiz - Gaming / VideoElephant
Stellar Blade developer Shift Up and publisher Sony are both being sued by a film production company based in Louisiana.
Stellar Blade is an action adventure video game released in April 2024 on PS5 and PC where players take control of a character called Eve who tries to save an ailing humanity from a war against monstrous creatures.
Upon its release, the game received mostly favourable reviews, however it courted controversy from some because of claims Eve was sexualised through her character model and outfits players can unlock through the game.
But it has the highest MetaCritic user score out of any game released on the PS5 in 2024 with some saying it could therefore be in contention for game of the year.
However, Stellar Blade seems to be at the centre of a very different storm as legal action is being taken against Shift Up and Sony.
IGN has reported it has viewed a complaint that was filed in a Louisiana court in September by Stellarblade LLC and owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey against Shift Up, Sony and an unnamed insurance company that the plaintiff claims covers Sony with liability insurance against the very allegations Stellarblade is bringing.
These allegations are trademark infringement and claiming its business is being damaged by Shift Up's use of the name.
The lawsuit says Stellarblade has existed since 2010 and Mehaffey claims while his customers could find out about his business easily before the release of the game, people searching for Stellarblade's work can now only find the game.
Stellar Blade was called Project Eve until 2022 and in January 2023, Shift Up got a video game-related trademark for it; Mehaffey registered his own trademark for Stellarblade in June later the same year and then sent a cease and desist letter to Shift Up a month later.
In a statement sent to IGN, Mehaffey's lawyer said: "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 monopolised 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."
Mehaffey is claiming for damages and attorney fees, as well as asking Shift Up and Sony to be prevented from using Stellar Blade or any other name similar to it and handing over all Stellar Blade materials to them so they can be destroyed.
Indy100has contacted Sony PlayStation for comment.
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