You can make an argument that the lightsaber is the most iconic item to emerge from Star Wars. It turns up on the middle fingers of pop stars, in fan videos celebrating the fighting prowess of Walking Dead characters, and in a multitude of other places. One place it probably won’t be turning up, though, is in the fencing academies you see at conventions that supposedly teach you to be a better saber fighter, because Lucasfilm is going after them.
Lucasfilm has always been rather lawsuit-happy, a quality that’s only intensified since they were bought by the equally litigious Disney, which notoriously once nearly took a daycare center to court because Mickey was illegally painted on the wall. Ars Technica reports the latest salvo from the Empire’s legal department concerns the lightsaber fighting classes that have become a mainstay of conventions over the years.
The Lightsaber Academy isn’t exactly a clear and present legal threat: Entry to one of its classes, where a dancer or martial arts trainer will walk fans through basic stage combat with a saber, usually runs $10 a person. Mostly Lucasfilm is peeved that the words “Jedi,” “lightsaber” and a logo that vaguely resembles the emblem of the Jedi Order are on the website, and available on t-shirts. That said, it doesn’t seem worth the time of a company that made $2 billion at the box office to go after a guy who supervises a network of dance instructors and stage combat teachers. Even the Empire has standards, guys.
(via Ars Technica)
