Stellarblade Production Company Takes Sony to Court Over Trademark Dispute

A film production company based in Louisiana, Stellarblade, has initiated a lawsuit against the developer of Stellar Blade, Shift Up, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, citing trademark infringement. According to documents obtained by IGN, the complaint was filed by Stellarblade LLC and its owner, Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, earlier this month. Stellarblade was founded in 2010, and Mehaffey claims the company has owned the stellarblade.com domain since 2006 and has been actively using it since 2011. Initially, Shift Up announced the game as Project Eve in 2019, later changing the title to Stellar Blade in 2022, and registering it as a trademark related to video games in January 2023. Mehaffey registered Stellarblade as a trademark in June 2023 and subsequently sent a cease and desist letter to Shift Up in July. Mehaffey's argument is that the trademarks are confusingly similar, and when searching for Stellarblade online, results for the video game appear instead of the production company. Mehaffey is seeking unspecified damages and attorney fees, and has requested that Sony and Shift Up be prohibited from using the name Stellar Blade or any similar name. Additionally, Mehaffey has asked for all materials containing Stellar Blade to be handed over for destruction. The lawyer representing Mehaffrey stated, 'We support fair competition, but when larger companies disregard the established rights of smaller businesses, it is our duty to protect our brand.' The lawyer further added, 'The defendants' significantly greater resources have dominated online search results for Stellarblade, forcing Mr. Mehaffrey's long-established business into digital obscurity and threatening his livelihood, which he has built over more than a decade.'