As if George Lucas didn't have enough money ...

[dejr_8]

Watch the next commercial for a Droid phone and look at the disclaimer - "Droid" is a registered trademark of Lucas Arts.

Wonder how much money he is getting.

 

[LisaInNc]

We noticed that too and Lucas had the first droid in a Star Wars movie.

Lisa

 

[Mickeyistheman]

Wow..I will have to check that out the next time I see the commercial.

This man is raking in the dough.

 

[Tinkermommy]

George Lucas is a genius and deserves all the money he earns.

Did you know he started Pixar?

Honestly, I don't think he does these projects for money. They are just what he does. His motivation seems to be his internal drive to create.

 

[dejr_8]

George Lucas is a genius and deserves all the money he earns.

Did you know he started Pixar?

I agree. He is one heck of a business genius. He basically invented the toy/movie tie-in industry with the initial line of Star War toys.

I just found it odd that he had trademarked the term "Droid".

 

[Shutterbug]

Next time you watch a movie, watch the movie credits and see how many movies use Skywalker Sound for their sound editing.

yep another George Lucas company

 

[dejr_8]

Next time you watch a movie, watch the movie credits and see how many movies use Skywalker Sound for their sound editing.

yep another George Lucas company

or Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)

 

[Tinkermommy]

I just found it odd that he had trademarked the term "Droid".

That is standard practice for trademarks. You want to legally protect the brand name. Just like Apple is or Microsoft is trademarked.

 

[Rora]

I'm giving George mad props for the industries he's created. Well deserved money, IMO.

I LOVE the Droid. If only I had Verizon...

 

[Deb in IA]

He also is a big sponsor of public radio and has an educational foundation that publishes Edutopia, a resource center for anyone interested in improving our educational systems.

http://www.edutopia.org/

 

[dejr_8]

That is standard practice for trademarks. You want to legally protect the brand name. Just like Apple is or Microsoft is trademarked.

Yes I understand that!

However it was quite visionary from Georges perspective to 35 years ago trademark the word Droid. I wonder what other words from Star Wars he also trademarked.

 

[dejr_8]

Just be clear. This thread was not started as an attack on George. It was just an observation.

 

[NotUrsula]

He's also very generous about letting people write deriivations of the Star Wars saga without having to pay royalties. He is zealous about guarding the SW trademarks, but is amazingly generous about the copyright.

Here's a fun one for you: have you ever noticed at Tatooine Traders that while there are lots of various costumes and helmets around, you never see an adult Storm Trooper mask? It is the one item of SW costuming that Lucas refuses to license. The only way to get one is to make it yourself or buy it from someone who has done it by hand. Owning such Stormtrooper armor is an entrance requirement for membership in the 501st Legion (the costume club that appears at the Studios during SWW, and which marched in the Rose Bowl Parade when Lucas was Grand Marshall.) They don't pay Lucas for the right to use the likenesses, but they have agreed not to reproduce them commercially. Most of the members make their own.

(And no, I'm not a SW geek. My 13 yo Aspie son is. Whenever he has to do a report on a "great American", DS always chooses Lucas because of his business savvy. We noticed the trademark statement on the Droid phone the first day that it came out -- it is on the phone's packaging, too.)

 

[Jestocost]

Yes I understand that!

However it was quite visionary from Georges perspective to 35 years ago trademark the word Droid. I wonder what other words from Star Wars he also trademarked.

Lucasfilm is listed as the registrant for more than 800 trademarked names. Basically everything you'd expect in the Star Wars universe and in the Indiana Jones universe too.

Go to the search marks link and do a basic search under Owner Name and Address at the US Patent and Trademark Office site:

 

[Imzadi]

That is standard practice for trademarks. You want to legally protect the brand name. Just like Apple is or Microsoft is trademarked.

He is very protective, especially after Reagan missapropriated the term the "Star Wars" to use for their national missile defense program, otherwise known as the Strategic Defense Initiative.

I didn't know he could trademark the term droid though, as androids were in sci-fi long before Star Wars.

However, Madonna trademarked "Madonna" for her image and likeness, when girls started dressing up as Madonna-wannabes and clothing companies started using the term Madonna wear for their Madonna inspired clothing and weren't giving her a cut of the action.

You wouldn't think that it was possible to trademark "Madonna" as the original Madonna has been in existence for for over 2000 years and the Christian churches kind of own that image. But, no one really gets the two Madonnas mixed up.

 

[Tinkermommy]

I didn't know he could trademark the term droid though, as androids were in sci-fi long before Star Wars.

Well, you can trademark common names for specific things (like Apple), so the application was probably very specific about what class of products this is used for and it looks like it was applied with word DROID in capital letters as well. So that means they must always use the name in all caps.