Crayola Boy pointed out the following from the AP:

A medical instruments maker has fallen on the "Dark Side" of George Lucas, the maker of the Star Wars motion picture series.

Instead of telling Minrad Inc. "may the force be with you" in its development of energy beam-related medical devices, Lucasfilm Ltd. has slapped the Buffalo, N.Y., company with a federal trademark infringement suit.

Minrad has applied to the government to call its collection of surgical products that can be guided by an energy beam the "Light Saber."

But that's the same trademarked name as the weapons that Jedi Knights wield to battle dark forces in the Star Wars pictures.

In the movies, the Light Saber is an energy beam capable of cutting through most materials except the blade of another Light Saber. And it was that instrument of death that Darth Vader used to cut off Luke Skywalker's hand.

In the suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Lucasfilm said that surgical devices having the same name as hundreds of toys and games involving the fictitious Light Saber could dupe consumers into believing that the filmmaker somehow sponsors the medical instruments.

And that could hurt Lucasfilm's bottom line.

"Consequently, any deficiencies or faults in the quality of 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," the suit said. "This confusion is likely to result in loss of revenues to Lucasfilm and damage to its reputation."

Neither representatives from Lucasfilm nor Minrad were available for comment.

The case is Lucasfilm v. Minrad, C012847.

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