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Developer Shift Up and publisher Sony are being sued by a film production company in Louisiana called Stellarblade over the name of the PlayStation exclusive Stellar Blade.
According to IGN, Stellarblade and its owner, Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, are suing Shift Up and Sony, both for damages and to prevent the name from being used further. This includes asking that they both stop using the Stellar Blade name or any similar names, as well as handing over all materials in their possession with the name “Stellar Blade” so that they can be destroyed.
In the lawsuit, Mehaffey claimed that he has owned the stellarblade.com domain name since 2006 and that the company started in 2010. Shift Up registered the name Stellar Blade as a video-game-related trademark in January 2023, while Mehafffey registered his own for Stellarblade in June. A month later, he then claimed to sent a cease-and-desist letter to Shift Up.
Mehaffey also claimed that when customers look for Stellarblade on the internet, information about Stellar Blade now completely overtakes search results. Furthermore, he alleged that the “S” styling Stellar Blade’s logo looks too similar to his own Stellarblade’s.
“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 said in a statement to IGN.
They continued, “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.”
In GameSpot’s Stellar Blade review, we said, “A strong battle system and exciting moments make Stellar Blade more than just an imitator.” Shift Up is also considering both a PC port and a sequel in the future.
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