Hasta La Gadget!

The folks behind Star Wars want you to know that Wicked Lasers are not lightsabers, no matter what you might hear. Lucasfilms, which, let’s face it, has always been eager to pursue legal action when it comes to protecting its trademarks (particularly those of the “Star Wars” variety), has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wicked Lasers, asking the company to either change or halt production of its Spyder III Pro Arctic Series.

As any properly opportunistic business would, Wicked Lasers has taken the opportunity to use the potential suit to promote its product, sending out a press release titled “Lucasfilms Ltd. Sues Wicked Lasers Over Lightsaber Confusion.” According to Wicked Lasers, the company “has never compared this or any of his products to the Jedi weapon wielded by Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader–not to mention the other obvious differences between the two products.”

What “obvious differences,” you ask? Well, there’s the fact that the lightsaber is a terrific tool for beheading Sith and Jedi alike, whereas the Spyder III couldn’t scramble an egg. That said, I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of a lawsuit filed by the company that owns the trademark to Jedi Mind Tricks.

If there’s validity to a suit, it’s not in the use of names (which Wicked Lasers seems to largely avoid) so much as in the product design. As evidenced by the above picture, there is something pretty lightsabery in the design of the device’s handle.

Poor George Lucas just wants to let the world know that these are not the lasers they’re looking for.