Lucasfilm: Billboard Company Violating Trademark It Is

By Prescott Carlson in News on Feb 6, 2010 5:15PM

A local sign company must have been unaware that only the Super Bowl and the Olympics rival George Lucas and Lucasfilm as pit bulls that go after any whiff of trademark violations. Because if not, then Skywalker Outdoor, Inc., shouldn't have been surprised when they were slapped with a trademark infringement suit.

Lucasfilm has held the trademark for the term "Skywalker" since the first (er, fourth) Star Wars film was released over 30 years ago. The suit claims that the billboard company is "confusing fans" and profiting off of the name -- apparently media buyer science fiction geeks are a big market.

The lawsuit says that Lucasfilm first approached Skywalker Outdoor in 2007, and the company had agreed to change their name and remove any mentions of the word "Skywalker" from their promotional materials and website, something they obviously have not done. The company claims that the 2007 agreement was made by somebody at the company who had absolutely no power to make that agreement.

The suit is asking for "unspecified monetary damages," but if past actions are any indication, Lucasfilm likes to go for the big bucks.