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Lucasfilm is suing an academy that teaches lightsaber duelling

Academy... being sued by Lucasfilm - Credit: Lucasfilm
Academy… being sued by Lucasfilm – Credit: Lucasfilm

Next time you make a lightsaber noise as you’re, say, unsheathing your umbrella, be mindful of who might be listening.

You could find yourself slapped with a lawsuit.

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Such is the current experience of the Lightsaber Academy, which has learned that it being sued by Lucasfilm (which means it’s being sued by its parent company Disney).

The Academy, which holds workshops around the US, describes itself as ‘a consortium of lightsaber practitioners with a culmination of 50 years experience of teaching various swordplay techniques’.

Infringement... the logo is obviously a point of contention - Credit: Lightsaber Academy
Infringement… the logo is obviously a point of contention – Credit: Lightsaber Academy

It teaches the ‘core principles’ of the battling art form, as well as ‘academic form, atage, and/or dueling’.

The suit has been filed against one Michael Brown, who also operates businesses called New York Jedi, the Lightsaber Academy, and Thrills and Skills, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The legal complaint from Lucasfilm Trademarks states that the ‘defendants regularly use the Lucasfilm Trademarks without authorization in connection with their businesses’.

It also alleges unfair competition and ‘cybersquatting’ as well as the trademark infringement.

“Among other infringing activities, Defendants use a logo that is nearly identical, and confusingly similar, to Lucasfilm’s trademark Jedi Order logo… round in shape, with six wing-like shapes curving upward (three per side), and an eight-pointed star featuring elongated top and bottom points stretched into a vertical line,” it continues.

Lucasfilm is demanding a ‘permanent injunction, actual damages and profits’, or $2 million in statutory damages for the infringement of trademark.