Lucasfilm Alleges Fake Lightsabers Infringe

Lucasfilm Ltd. has filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against a Maryland-based company that sells replica lightsaber laser swords made popular by the "Star Wars" movie series.

The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, claims William Osburn and his High-Tech Magic company are knowingly infringing on the trademark owned by Lucasfilm by selling the products, including a "24 inch plasma lightsaber."

"When companies like the defendant in this case try to make a profit by confusing fans and flagrantly violating our trademark rights, we have to take action," Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, said in a statement. "We owe it to our fans -- as well as to companies like Hasbro and Master Replicas, which are producing excellent authorized toy and replica lightsabers -- to stop this type of unlawful behavior."

A message left with High-Tech Magic was not returned.

The complaint, filed by David Kramer, Hollis Hire and John Slafsky of Palo Alto's Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, asks the court to order the destruction of High-Tech's lightsaber replicas, which retail for between $77.95 and $155.95, according to the company's Web site.

The Web site, high-techmagic.com, indicates it sells lightsabers "that look as good as those in the movies" and makes reference to several of Lucasfilm's registered trademarks, including "Lightsaber," "The Force," "Jedi" and "Darth Maul."

Lucasfilm, a privately held company founded and controlled by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, seeks unspecified damages and restitution for profits.

The suit comes two months after U.S. District Court Judge Gary Klausner in Los Angeles awarded Lucasfilm $20 million in a copyright infringement case against U.K.-based Shepperton Design Studios. Shepperton failed to appear in that case.

In granting Lucasfilm's default judgment, Klausner found Shepperton illegally sold pirated Stormtrooper and other 'Star Wars' helmets and awarded compensatory damages for copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition, according to the Sept. 26 judgment.

Lucasfilm said it is seeking to enforce the judgment in England.

"As in the Shepperton case, we want to send a very clear message: We will do whatever it takes to shut down infringers trying to profit from the sale of knock-off 'Star Wars' products," Roffman said.

He added, "Fans making 'Star Wars' costumes for themselves is great; infringers making bootleg merchandise to profit will not be tolerated."

The case is Lucasfilm v. Osburn, 06cv07317.