Star Wars Rids Us of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court Does Not Like Kafka Either When it Comes to Copyright

摘要

Lucasfilm is about the star-trooper helmets in the Star Wars movies that had been sold as memorabilia by Ainsworth, both in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The question whether these helmets are artistic works (sculptures) arose, but will not be discussed in this contribution, as did the question whether English courts have jurisdiction to decide a claim related to the infringement of foreign (US) copyright. This contribution will look at how the Supreme Court decided the latter question.