10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Wars History
6. A Lightsaber Lookalike Is Told To Cease And Desist
Anyone who's seen a Star Wars film has wished that they could own an actual lightsaber. Sure, you can buy those cheap plastic replicas, but they're not quite the same as the powerful weapons wielded by Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi onscreen.
Enter Wicked Lasers, a company that produced a high-powered laser product that was deemed by Lucasfilm to bear too strong a resemblance to the lightsabers seen in the Star Wars movies.
"It is apparent from the design of the Pro Arctic Laser that it was intended to resemble the hilts of our lightsaber swords, which are protected by copyright" said a cease-and-desist letter, sent by Lucasfilm in June 2010.
Wicked Lasers' CEO Steve Liu called Lucasfilm's attack "ridiculous", stating that the Pro Arctic Laser was never meant to resemble a lightsaber, or infringe on any Star Wars copyrights. There are only so many ways you can design a handheld laser, after all.
Despite receiving the cease-and-desist letter, Wicked Lasers refused to continue selling the product in question, and in the end, the company's persistence won out. Lucasfilm dropped the case roughly a month later, allowing consumers to keep swinging those lightsabers - sorry, lasers - to their hearts' content.