The ever-vigilant Star Wars mastermind, who's fiercely protective of his movies and oversees all aspects of their marketing, is taking a medical-instruments maker to task for calling its newest gizmos, energy-beam-related surgical devices, "Light Sabers."
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims Minrad Inc. infringed on Lucasfilm's exclusive copyright on the Light Saber name when it asked permission from the government to call its new group of tools Light Sabers because they're guided by lasers.
Everyone this side of Dagobah knows that a Light Saber is a Jedi's weapon of choice, a trusty sword-like beam of energy that, with the aid of the Force, can repel laser attacks and cut through all sorts of material like steel--and even Darth Vader's hand. Lucas coined the term back in 1977 with the release of Star Wars and has since used the name Light Saber to sell toy versions of the blade, as well as truckloads of other Star Wars-related merchandise, to millions of wannabe Jedis the world over.
When Lucas and company found out the Buffalo, New York-based Minrad was going to borrow the name for its products, he made like Vader trying to take out the Rebel Alliance and called in the lawyers.
In the suit, Lucasfilm claims Minrad's use of the Light Saber name would not only dilute the value of the trademark and potentially cost the filmmaker millions of dollars but could dupe consumers into thinking Lucas endorsed the gadgets.
"Any deficiencies or faults in the quality of the defendant's goods are likely to reflect negatively upon, tarnish and seriously injure the reputation which Lucasfilm has established for goods and services marketed under its Light Saber mark," the suit says. "This confusion is likely to result in loss of revenues to Lucasfilm and damage to its reputation."
While we're guessing most parents aren't really going to go out and buy their kids a laser-guided scalpel, Lucasfilm is dead-set on deep-sixing the device. The company wants the court to issue a cease-and-desist order preventing Minrad's use of the Light Saber moniker.
Both companies refused to comment on the suit pending potential litigation, although sources at Lucasfilm said the company had attempted to settle the suit amicably.
When he's not busy filing lawsuits, the master Jedi has his hands full these days putting the final touches on Star Wars: Episode II. The second prequel, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen, is due out in May 2002.