STAR WARS (1977) director GEORGE LUCAS is suing an American firm over new surgical devices called Light Sabers. The Hollywood heavyweight has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in San Francisco, claiming that MINRAD INC infringed LUCASFILM's exclusive copyright on the name.

The company which makes medical instruments asked permission from the government to call its new devices Light Sabers because they're guided by lasers. Lucas came up with the term light sabre in 1977 with the release of the first Star Wars movie.

Lucasfilm claims Minrad's use of the Light Saber name would dilute the value of the trademark and potentially cost Lucas millions of dollars. It says it could also make consumers think Lucas had endorsed the product.

The suit says, "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. This confusion is likely to result in loss of revenues to Lucasfilm and damage to its reputation. " (RP/WNWCAN/KMW)

Source: WENN