Resisting unauthorized making money from fans Lucasfilm has sued a fan club

The word "Jedi" has been around for more than 40 years, so much so that people sometimes forget that it was a concept that Lucas coined for Star Wars, which is used in various Star Wars movies, books, and games. Lucasfilm enjoys intellectual property rights. In fact, Lucasfilm owns copyright to everything in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm chose to resort to law for those unauthorized use of Star Wars elements.

The word "Jedi" has been around for more than 40 years, so much so that people sometimes forget that it was a concept that Lucas coined for Star Wars, which is used in various Star Wars movies, books, and games.

Lucasfilm enjoys intellectual property rights. In fact, Lucasfilm owns copyright to everything in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm chose to resort to law for those unauthorized use of Star Wars elements. On Friday, Lucasfilm sued Michael Brown, who runs a number of Star Wars-related training camps, including the New York Jedi and the Lightsaber Academy.

Lucasfilm's lawyers believe that Michael Brown used concepts such as "Jedi Knight" and "Lightsaber" when advertising and selling courses and products, and that his "Jedi Order" Logo was quite similar to Lucasfilm's. "The defendants often used Lucasfilm's trademarks for commercial purposes without authorization." That's what the lawsuit says.

As the owner of the Jedi Knights of New York and the Lightsaber Academy, Michael Brown, better known as Flynn Michael, is a self-proclaimed Jedi Master. He was a former sound engineer and claimed to have watched 1977 "Star Wars: A New Hope" more than 77 times, especially the scene where Luke Skywalker learned the Force from Obi-Wan. He combined dance, martial arts, swordsmanship and Xizang Buddhism to create modern Jedi art.

At both institutions, people learn to use the Star Wars weapon, known as lightsabers, to fight. The "Jedi Knights of New York" website lists the course schedule. There are two hours of "Jedi" courses every week at Ripley Grier Studio in Manhattan, and most courses cost about $10. Course teachers are all martial arts experts, stage and martial arts directors, and professional dancers. However, some courses are free, but the organization said it also accepts donations from the college to subsidize the room cost.

A similar situation is true for another institution, the Lightsword Academy. The "Lightsaber Academy" says it has been guiding lightsaber training for more than 50 years. At some comics exhibitions, the "Lightsaber Academy" also organizes courses, provides lightsaber certification, and sells LIGHTSABER ACADEMY logo, which is almost identical to the Logo of the Jedi Order in the movie.

In addition to trademark infringement, Lucasfilm also sued the Jedi Knights Academy for domain name grabbing and unfair competition. The lawsuit states that Brown not only ignored multiple cease-infringement notices, but instead went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to apply for a trademark from his training institution. Lucasfilm is seeking $2 million in damages for each infringed trademark.

Such lightsaber fighting courses are very popular among Star Wars fans, especially at Star Wars themed gatherings. Disney itself has launched "Jedi Knight Training" at Disneyland in Florida and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Disney or Lucasfilm does not exclude fans from re-creations, and sometimes they are even happy to display such content in promotional activities or movies. Notable fan organizations include the 501st Legion, whose members are COSER of the Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers; and the R2 Global Manufacturers Club. But this type of club is more Geek, requires higher hands-on skills, and there are no additional charges.

Now it seems that the "Jedi Knights of New York" and "Lightsaber Academy" have angered Lucasfilm because they are more concerned about making money from fans than spreading Star Wars culture, and these are not authorized by Lucasfilm.

Editor: yvette