I think one of the reason's the British court ruled in Mr. Ainsworth's favor is because he is the guy who designed the Stormtrooper mask. I don't know much about British copyright law, but I know this isn't the first time something that would be considered a "work for hire" in the US wound up partially in the hands of its creator.

The BBC owns Doctor Who, but they only partially own the Daleks and K9. The creators of both intellectual properties retain a portion of the original British Copyright, and therefore get paid out for it. They also don't need the BBC's permission to license out the properties.