Louisiana Company Sues PlayStation and Shift Up Over 'Stellar Blade' Name Dispute

Shift Up, the developer behind Stellar Blade, and its publisher Sony are being sued by a Louisiana-based film production company called Stellarblade for trademark infringement. The lawsuit, filed by Stellarblade LLC and owner Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, claims that the name of the upcoming game is harming their business.

The complaint, filed in a Louisiana court earlier this month, names Shift Up, Sony, and an unnamed insurance company. Mehaffey's company has been providing multimedia services since 2010, and he claims to have owned the domain stellarblade.com since 2006, using it for his work since 2011.

Mehaffey's Stellarblade trademark logo, registered in August of 2023 in Louisiana and in November of the same year in Mississippi, allegedly in use since 2010.

Shift Up's Stellar Blade logo was officially registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office in May of 2024.

Originally announced in 2019 under the name Project Eve, the game’s title was changed to Stellar Blade in 2022, with Shift Up registering a video game trademark for it in early 2023. Mehaffey filed for his own trademark later that year and issued a cease and desist to Shift Up.

Mehaffey alleges the similar name, logo, and branding color schemes are causing confusion, making it difficult for people to find his company online. He is seeking to block Sony and Shift Up from using the Stellar Blade name and is requesting all materials with the game’s branding be handed over for destruction.