LucasFilm Demands Wicked Lasers Stop Making Lightsaber-Like Laser
A couple weeks back we highlighted the Spyder III Pro Arctic laser from Wicked Lasers, a very powerful, very dangerous blue laser that happens to look a lot like a lightsaber. Guess what? LucasFilm isn't terribly happy that anyone can order a $200 product that looks like a lightsaber and can easily damage fragile things, like people.
The description of the Spyder III Pro is probably best summarized by the warning issued by Wicked Lasers:
Warning: Extremely dangerous is an understatement to the power of 1W of laser power. It will blind permanently and instantly and set fire quickly to skin and other body parts, use with extreme caution and only when using the included eye protection. Customers will be required to completely read and agree to our Class IV Laser Hazard Acknowledgment Form.
That being the case, the LucasFilm legal response shouldn't come as much of a surprise:
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. 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. As Wicked Lasers itself admits, this product can cause serious injury to the user and other people. We strongly discourage consumers from purchasing it.
I can see the knee-jerk reaction to the legal communication being angry, assuming it to be an over-protective LucasFilm attempting to aggressively protect the image of the lightsaber.
But Star Wars is a family-oriented bunch of films before anything else, and the notion of an extremely dangerous product being promoted as a 'real-life lightsaber' is bound to raise the ire of LucasFilm. Granted, Wicked Lasers doesn't actually use the word 'lightsaber' in promotions for the laser, but the physical design of the case (pictured above) makes a Star Wars-like aspiration impossible to discount or ignore.