Shift Up and Sony are facing a lawsuit from Louisiana’s Stellarblade film production company over the name of the PlayStation exclusive, Stellar Blade.
IGN reports that Stellarblade, led by Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, is taking legal action against Shift Up and Sony for damages and to stop them from using the Stellar Blade name. They want both companies to cease using the name and hand over all materials with “Stellar Blade” on them for destruction.
Mehaffey stated in the lawsuit that he has owned the stellarblade.com domain since 2006 and started his company in 2010. Shift Up registered Stellar Blade as a video game trademark in January 2023, while Mehaffey secured his own trademark for Stellarblade in June. He claims he sent a cease-and-desist letter to Shift Up a month later.
He also mentioned that searching for Stellarblade online now mostly shows results for Stellar Blade. Additionally, he argued that the “S” design in Stellar Blade’s logo is too similar to his own.
“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,” Mehaffey’s lawyer told IGN.
The lawyer added, “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.”
Fans often wonder why big companies ignore smaller ones’ rights.
GameSpot’s review of Stellar Blade said, “A strong battle system and exciting moments make Stellar Blade more than just an imitator.” Shift Up is also thinking about a PC version and a sequel in the future.
