Stellar Blade publisher and developer sued by Stellarblade film company over trademark infringement

The parties behind this year’s PS5 exclusive sci-fi action game Stellar Blade has found themselves in legal hot water after a Louisiana-based film production company called Stellarblade has sued them over copyright infringement. The film production company claims that its business has been damaged due to the existence of Shift Up’s more prominent game of basically the same name.

As reported by IGN, the legal complaint was filed in a Louisiana court this month by Stellarblade LLC and owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey against Stellar Blade developer Shift Up, publisher Sony, as well as an unnamed insurance company which allegedly covers Sony Interactive Entertainment with liability insurance. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants are infringing on an existing trademark which has provided “multimedia entertainment services” since 2010, 14 years before the release of the video game. The project which would become the game Stellar Blade was announced back in 2019 under the working title “Project Eve“, with the game only unveiling its final title during the 2022 PlayStation State of Play presentation.

To demonstrate the damages caused by the alleged trademark infringement, Mehaffey claims that clients looking for his business online find their searches dominated by the more prominent video game, impacting his business. He also alleges that the logos for both his Stellarblade and Shift Up’s Stellar Blade are “confusingly similar“, highlighting common elements of the two logos, such as the color schemes and the stylized S. You can view the logos below and make up your own mind if you like.

Mehaffey’s compensation demands include demanding that Shift Up and Sony cease using the name Stellar Blade, or anything similar to it. In addition, he has demanded that the defendants hand over all materials in their possession with “Stellar Blade” on them so that the his company can destroy them. He is also seeking monetary damages and compensation for legal fees.

It will remain to be seen how this legal action will end. Stellarblade is not exactly a direct competitor with the video game Stellar Blade. However, their industries are close enough that it is understandable that there may be some overlap which could cause confusion. It is unlikely that we will see a definitive outcome anytime soon, and with Sony’s resources it is entirely possible the whole thing could end with a quiet out of court settlement to make it go away rather than rename its game. At any rate, we will have to wait and see how it goes.