The world record-breaking Light Battle Tour, which drew large crowds during its stop in the Embarcadero’s Sue Bierman Park last December, will now be known as Cats in Space Tour after a legal settlement with trademark holder Lucasfilm, according to an announcement on the event’s website.
According to the post, the Disney-helmed Lucasfilm first approached Canadian non-profit Newmindspace with a cease-and-desist in January over the use of the words the words “lightsaber,” “Jedi,” “Sith,” and “The Force.” Then in March, they followed up with another notice over the similarity of the name “Light Battle Tour” to the company’s trademark.
As per the settlement, event coordinators re-branded the event to “Cats in Space Tour,” but assure attendees that previous registrations will still be honored and that the event shall proceed as usual. The battle between Space Cats and Space Mice rages on, with the inclusion of the weapon that is clearly not a lightsaber, but a “cat blade”.
“Cats in Space is a fun, playful series of Space Battles where participants can fight with fantasy weapons, laser guns, and more, while enjoying original artwork on T-shirts that benefit charity,” co-founder Kevin Bracken states in the post.
Newmindspace, which has been organizing large-scale events in 2005, first launched their Light Battle Tour events in 2007 at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and has since expanded to over ten cities across the United States.
