Suing George Lucas
When you are big and successful, there will always be those who want a piece of the cake. George Lucas had to learn this the hard way when he was sued for the design of R2-D2 by Universal studios. If you are asking on what grounds they have the right to sue, allow us to explain it.
George Lucas said that the concept for R2-D2 was inspired by the robots in the film ‘Silent Running’ which was owned by Universal studios. So when they felt like they had a chance to sue Lucas for the design, they took it but were later defeated in court. Fox’s counter-sue won the case in the end.