Via Thegaurdian.com:
Disney-owned Lucasfilm, which holds rights to Star Wars, has filed a suit against New York-based Empire Brewing Co, whose German malt and hops brew could, they say, be confused for an official product.
Star Wars creator George Lucas once unsuccessfully tried to sue an artist who made Stormtrooper outfits, and even took on a company for developing a headset which allowed video game users to control characters with their minds.
Now it appears that the newly Disney-owned Lucasfilm is taking just as litigious an attitude after it emerged that the company is suing a tiny New York-based brewpub for marketing a beer allegedly known as Empire’s Strikes Bock.
Empire Brewing Co, based in Syracuse, has reportedly been trying to trademark the bock lager as “Strikes Bock”, making its full moniker uncannily reminiscent of the 1980 movie widely regarded as the best in Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy. Lucasfilm, which Disney bought for £4.05bn in October 2012, has filed an opposing motion in an effort to stop the beer being sold in other bars, restaurants and stores. It suggests customers may find themselves bamboozled when drinking the lager into believing they are imbibing some form of official Star Wars beer.
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Photograph: PR