It’s no secret that director George Lucas and his company, Lucasfilm, now owned by Disney, have fiercely protected their intellectual property ever since the original “Star Wars” film was released in 1977. Take one step into that futuristic world and you can expect lawyers to strike back — whether it’s a national defense project touted by the President, a new smartphone release from Verizon or a small brewery in New York.
Lucas and company have won some and lost some. President Reagan was able to use the Star Wars nickname to tout his defense program in the 1980s, but Verizon succumbed to the Force and paid a licensing fee for its Droid phone. Jedi Mind, a computer technology company, had to change its name to Mind Technologies, but a Star Wars propmaker won the right to sell Stormtrooper helmets. And the battle goes on to include Dr. Dre, a movie called “Starballz,” and Leia holograms.
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Lucas has been sued, too. In 2015, five engineers brought a class-action suit against Lucasfilm and six other high-tech California companies, alleging a conspiracy to put stealth limits on employee compensation. The companies settled.
George Lucas está tratando de construir un museo privado en la orilla del lago de Chicago, pero enfrenta la oposición, y una posible demanda, de los defensores de los espacios abiertos que dicen que su Museo Lucas de Arte Narrativo de $ 1 millones violaría las ordenanzas de la ciudad.
Las películas de «Star Wars» han sido todas bonanzas de taquilla, con ingresos de miles de millones. Luego está el universo de ganancias generadas por otros medios: libros, juegos de computadora, juguetes, cómics, etc.