back to article LucasFilm sets lawyers on Jedi nameswipers

LucasFilm has filed a $5m trademark suit against "Jedi Mind Inc", claiming that the company has failed to phase out its use of the word 'Jedi'. The lawsuit is actually quite restrained for LucasFilm, a company famously proactive in defence of its brands. Reuters reports that Jedi Mind was sent a cease and desist letter last …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Collins dictionary

    "Jedi" has been in the Collins dictionary for a few years now (and is thus valid in Scrabble), referring IIRC to the people who came up with a pretend religion based on it. That's usually one step on the road to genericness. ("Hoover" and "Kleenex" must be in practically every dictionary today, "Sellotape" and "Tipp-Ex" slightly less so.)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      'pretend religion'?

      I'd love a definition of how a pretend religion differs from any other.

      1. TkH11

        Pretend Religion

        A pretend religion is one that has only just come into existence which has a relatively small following. In time, (tens of years, perhaps hundreds of years) if the following has grown into the millions, hundreds of millions then it will be classified as a 'real' religion.

        The principles, the beliefs, the texts which underpin that real religion will be exactly the same as the pretend religion.

        Both pretend and real religions will be based on a load of unprovable clap-trap with the 'mature' religion believing it to be superior to all other religions and will have generated a following of sufficient magnitude as to want to start a war in order to dominate, control and suppress followers of other religions.

        And so the cycle of life, the universe repeats....

      2. JohnG

        Religion, pretend religion and death

        Not sure if it would be a definition but one distinction between a pretend religion and religion might the willingness of followers to die for their faith. I doubt that any of the Jedi religion's followers would die for their beliefs but followers of the major religions have been often been willing to kill or be killed in the name of their religious beliefs and continue to do so today.

    2. Jimbo 6

      True, but...

      There's a definite distinction between using such terms in everyday speech (or Scrabble), and using them in business. If I tried marketing anything as 'Hoover XXX' or 'Kleenex YYY' I should rightly expect the relevant corporation to drop a hod of legal bricks on me.

  2. Disco-Legend-Zeke
    Pint

    And Then There's...

    ...android. A perfectly well established english word. But abbreviate it to Droid, and you will have Lucas's lawyers on you like flies on jam.

    1. DrunkenMessiah
      Terminator

      Hmm

      Did Lucas sue Motorolla?

      1. Annihilator
        Heart

        Lucas tried to sue, yes

        But Motorola just said "these aren't the 'droids your're looking for" and Georgie let them go about their business.

        1. Marcelo Rodrigues
          Coffee/keyboard

          New keyboard

          You owe me one! :)

      2. Seamless

        @DrunkenMessiah

        >>Did Lucas sue Motorolla?

        Motorolla's ads have a notice that Droid is used by license from Lucasfilm.

        1. Disco-Legend-Zeke
          Pint

          The Chicken Or The...

          ...Droid? My guess is that Motorola wanted a great name for "their" phone, and pre-emptively negotiated a license with LucasFilm to keep the other carriers from using it.

          Unlike, say AT&T, who, in that TV commercial where they unroll the orange cloth, reproduced the works of a lesser known artist, and then disclaimed any connection.

          You have to forgive George for his paranoia in this respect, when he was lesser known and less lawyered up, got royally ripped off. There is a certain amount of whiplash in his present stance.

          Here's a beer for Indy and Andy.

  3. alain williams Silver badge

    What about those who claim that it is their religion ?

    What about those folk who claim that it is their religion, as reported by el-reg, will Lucas go after them, will it infringe their religious freedom ? Oh, what fun!

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/10/09/jedi_knights_achieve_official_recognition/

    http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/

    http://templeofthejediforce.org/

    1. JediHomer
      Pint

      Religion... pfft...

      What about those that get drunk and think it's a good idea to change their name by Deed poll...

      Regards

      JediHomer (yup, so I can p*ss off Fox too )

    2. Arclight

      Cynic

      Can we expect to see Lucas sue the UK, Australia and various other governments for using the word Jedi in cenus forms and reports?

      Then again, maybe not as this is free advertising.

  4. pctechxp
    Coat

    This is not the name you are looking for

    'nuff said.

  5. Andrew the Invertebrate
    Coat

    This is not

    the thought controlled game you were looking for.

  6. Darth Onejoke

    I have already consulted my lawyers

    Pray I do not consult them any further.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      You don't know the power

      of my legal department.

      1. adrianww
        Stop

        How's about...

        ...witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational legal department?

        Or something.

        I understand the whole copyright thing, but really - Lucasfilm are getting as bad as the ambulance chasers. Although at least the ambulance chasers only make bloody awful TV adverts - Lucas manages to make monstrously huge feature films that are bloody awful. Considering where he started (American Graffiti anyone? Or even just the original Star Wars?) you can't help but be saddened to see how the mighty have fallen.

        It's all Binks' fault. Or possibly those damned Ewoks.

        1. I didn't do IT.
          Joke

          Re: Don't be too proud

          ... of this legislative terror you have constructed. The ability to destroy a company is insignificant to the power of the F****... What? I can't say "F****" due to copyright?! Did you just bleep me, m*****f******?!?!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    What about these?

    http://www.koreus.com/image/preservatif-dark-vador.html

  8. Jelliphiish

    this is not

    worth a pun

  9. Captain Hogwash
    Joke

    Pretend religion?

    Redundancy?

    1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

      Tautology

      that is.

  10. MontyMole

    Jedikiah

    There's always Jedikiah who appeared in the Tomorrow People TV series in 1973, slightly ahead of the Star Wars film

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedikiah_%28Tomorrow_People%29

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Jedikiah...

      Now all I can think of is using the force to assemble cheaply made Swedish flat pack furniture.

  11. The Metal Cod
    FAIL

    Disappointing, this is

    My fat cat is also one with the Force, he is a Dark Lard Of The Sith

  12. Christoph
    FAIL

    Levitation?

    "the power to levitate objects" ? Where do they think the word levitate came from? It., and the idea, were around *long* before their film came out.

  13. TeeCee Gold badge
    Coat

    I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home.....

    .......until I got a "cease and desist" letter from LucasFilm.

    1. Annihilator
      Coat

      re: bullseye

      "My god you shoot small animals for fun? That's the first indicator of a serial killer you freak"

      "There's two suns and no women, what the hell am I supposed to do??"

  14. BristolBachelor Gold badge
    Coat

    power to levitate objects

    LucasFilm owns the rights to everything Jedi-related, including (but not limited to) the "...power to levitate objects ...

    Is that why MagLev trains are so slow to enter service, and only in places like China? LucasFilm keeps sueing them?

  15. Dennis
    Alien

    Ask LucasFilm so you must

    My name also to use ask LucasFilm so you must.

    Yodaphone cannot they be, so Vodafone become they must.

  16. Rasczak
    Coat

    Think clearly ?

    <article>

    So if anyone is going to make money on users' ability to think clearly then it's going to be George Lucas.

    </article>

    And here I was thinking he was making money on people's inability to think clearly, vis Epsiodes I II and, to a lesser extent III.

    The one with the large hood.

  17. Blubster
    Coat

    @MontyMole

    "Jedikiah"

    Also Jedidiah as in Jedidiah Springfield founder of Springfield c. 1835

    1. EvilGav 1

      That would be . . .

      . . . Jebedia.

  18. David 141

    Your favourite quote adapted for the occasion goes here

    Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good lawsuit.

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