Lucasfilm have come our fighting and using very strong language as they seek to strike counterclaims in their dispute with Ren Ventures over a sabacc digital game.
It’s the latest development in a legal battle over Sabacc, a fictional card game from a galaxy far, far away in which Solo won his iconic Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. Lucasfilm launched the first strike in December, suing Ren Ventures over an unauthorized mobile version of the game. Ren fired back, claiming the studio doesn’t actually own the intellectual property rights to the fictional game and the film’s promotional campaign is infringing on Ren’s rights in regards to the game maker’s real-world version.
“Defendants apparently believe that the best defense is any offense, including a meritless one fueled by gall,” writes attorney Cynthia Arato. “To prevail on their state law claims, Defendants must demonstrate that Lucasfilm’s use of Sabacc in the promotions for Solo: A Star Wars Story are likely to cause consumer confusion as to the origin, source, or sponsorship of Sabacc. Defendants have zero probability of demonstrating this confusion.”
The studio reiterates that Sabacc has been part of its Star Wars universe since 1980 — in both a draft of the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and a novelization of that story — nearly four decades before the 2016 mobile game was released. It argues a party that chooses a trademark that is already associated with another party has no basis to complain about confusion.
