Ah, the Star Wars lightsaber. Just brings back the good ol’ days, huh? Not when you’re a company who’s under a lawsuit threat from Lucasfilm Ltd. You see kids, those lightsabers y’all thought were make-believe, well, aren’t. An industry by the name of Wicked Lasers has recently created a “highly dangerous” Class IV laser (the kind that can burn skin) mounted in a handle… I.E., a sword handle.
Apparently, Mr. Lucas wasn’t very happy with this and decided that the best course of action was to round up a few dozen lawyers to reclaim all value infringed upon by Wicked Lasers. According to Lucasfilm Ltd., “It has come to our attention that a company called Wicked Lasers is selling a highly dangerous product out of Hong Kong that is designed to look like a lightsaber from Star Wars…”. Ah, now the punch-line, “…This product is not licensed or approved by Lucasfilm in any way. We have demanded that Wicked Lasers immediately cease and desist their infringing activities.”
The device in question, the Arctic Spyder III, came along with safety information as well as a foray of pictures, including some ‘interesting’ cautionary advice: “Don’t let the Arctic name fool you, this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That’s why it’s also the most dangerous laser ever created.” Could it very well be that Wicked Lasers intended to infringe on the Stars Wars brand? Or was it the mere comfortable packaging of the sword itself that inspired the design? We’ll see how the case works out. Lord forbid some adolescent dreamer get his hands on the Arctic Spyder III - may the force be with him.
Source: EON News