When Wicked Lasers began offering Spyder III Pro Arctic laser for sale a few weeks ago, fans of the “Star Wars” movies noticed something–the design looked a lot like the famous lightsabers from the films.
The lasers produce a very powerful, very dangerous blue laser that happens to look a lot like a lightsaber.
The lasers are extremely dangerous says Wicked Laser, warning “Extremely dangerous is an understatement to the power of 1W of laser power. It will blind permanently and instantly and set fire quickly to skin and other body parts, use with extreme caution and only when using the included eye protection. Customers will be required to completely read and agree to our Class IV Laser Hazard Acknowledgment Form.”
But you could still buy one for about $200.
That is until George Lucas caught wind of the new lasers.
LucasFilm has issued a cease and desist order, asking the company to stop selling the items and discouraging consumers from purchasing them.
“It has come to our attention that a company called Wicked Lasers is selling a highly dangerous product out of Hong Kong that is designed to look like a lightsaber from Star Wars. This product is not licensed or approved by Lucasfilm in any way. We have demanded that Wicked Lasers immediately cease and desist their infringing activities. As Wicked Lasers itself admits, this product can cause serious injury to the user and other people. We strongly discourage consumers from purchasing it,” the statement say.
Ok… I may be on the side of Lucas with this one. (Not saying that I don’t want one myself.) But, I assure you, there are class-action lawsuits already being prepped for the massive number of kids who will be permanently injured by this product. (Anyone remember Lawn Darts?)
I would not want my name anywhere near this product. So… Good on you George. I’m with ya on this one.
Ok kiddies, no fooling around, this thing is a class 4 laser, this is not some laser pointer that anybody off the street is going to be able to buy. Class 4 lasers are primarily used by the military, industry, scientists and the medical field due to the danger inherent in their power. This is basically a man portable cutting laser. Do people need such a man portable cutting laser, maybe not, but it would be quite handy for things like laser etching, though a mount would be preferable for such a thing. This thing is not a toy, the fact that it resembles a light saber at all is really more that the designers of the light saber got it right more than they copied the design. The front end of the device is the laser, and those raised bits, those are heat sinks folks, becuase that beast is going to hot, very hot and without those it would quickly melt down. The rest is going to be the battery and control hardware, that is why it is so big and lightsaberish, it has to be in order provide enough juice. Now, the usability of this laser is somewhat suspect, precision laser cutting is a pain to do by hand. Safety wise, the company is well aware of this, and the switch system it has is designed to keep people who aren’t trained in handling the device from injuring themselves or others, smart move on their part.
Do I want one of these, you bet your life, it is awesomely cool, but still Lucas did not invent the laser. This device is not a light saber, it is a tool, and there are many tools out there that resemble sci-fi devices, I don’t see Rodenberry’s estate for cellular flip phones, or Wells’ estate for submarines, or any other sci-fi author for someone taking something they dreamed up and making it real or making something like it real. George just wants what he sees as his cut and is upset that the company said no.
Casing design (which, yes, looks rather lightsaber-esque) aside, a halfway decent kitchen knife “can cause serious injury to the user and other people.” I doubt LucasFilm wants to ban the sale of those based on such criteria. In fact, LF’s always been very direct about their “don’t copy our stuff or else” policy. Why in the world are they feeling the need to find other justifications this time?
This looks like a serviceable personal defense option. You can blind someone at quite the distance . . . then you can walk up to them and etch your initials on them.
. . . hmmm . . . better make that the initials of some other person.
Say!! perhaps that masked crime fighter could get one . . . he could then call himself
!! Lasorro !! and etch big “L’s” on the forehead of the blinded criminals.
Seriously, how the F can this thing be sold to the public; even without copy-write infringement problem. Something that can blind a person instantly and permanently goes way beyond a self defense weapon and its not like you would use it as part of a wood burning kit.
Well, blinding is less lethal than propelling metal into someone.
Although, I imagine one would then be open to lawsuits, so I would advise the later, preferably H&H.
As far as the legality, we currently sell 2+ ton weapons to people with little or no training in their proper operation, and very little control as to who they will pass it on to. The practice results in widespread death and injury which, but most people tend to take in stride.
ejdalise said,
“…we currently sell 2+ ton weapons to people with little or no training in their proper operation…”
I grant you that auto accidents do kill a large number of people; however, trucks and cars have a practical purpose and laws regulating their use. That is not the same as a weapon which can only be used harm other people. Also, as you point out it could open up a user; perhaps even someone acting self defense, to lawsuits. However, its not the ordinary home defense user who I am afraid will misuse the this laser. What a great way to prevent someone from identifying their robber or rapist; just blind them in the initial moments of the attack before the victim gets a good look at their attacker. This thing is nothing but a menace in the wrong hands and should not be legal, period.
Hmmm . . . weapons also have a practical purpose, and are regulated. Whether one agrees with the purpose, that is another subject. However, I don’t read anywhere this being marketed as a weapon. It is subject to age restriction, and is licensed for sale.
As far as this laser, I’m dubious this would be a bad guy’s choice, as it’s uses and applications are limited as a weapon. Not to mention expensive for what you get. And likely to be traceable back to a given user.
To prevent identification by a potential victim, a mask works wonders, a surprise non-frontal attack even better, and both lots simpler than this thing.
Everything is a menace in the wrong hands if the intention is there to begin with. Chainsaws, icepicks, corkscrews, nail guns, screwdrivers, rolled up magazines, chopsticks, fishing poles, plastic ties, duct tape, rocks, sticks, black holes, the list goes on.
I do agree it’ll be hard to keep idiots from buying these things, but that’s true for a host of potentially hazardous implements.
Finally, from personal experience, it is of little consolation if the object causing harm has a practical purpose or not.
“You’ll put your eye out! You’ll put your eye out!” Have we learned nothing from Christmas Story?
Darcy
don’t aim it at reflective surfaces, and it won’t ricochet a glancing beam into your eye.
But if it does, claim it was a lens flare.
People-
This thing is not a weapon, it is a tool, and like any tool it can be misused. Lasers have been around a long time, and have been used as weapons for about as long. Airliners now have laser resistant coatings on the cockpit windows to preven the pilots from being blinded or dazzled by lasers on the ground. Whether this can be used as a blinding weapon is not the real issue here though, what is is Lucas’ C&D against it.
That is just plain bull. Lucas did not invent lasers, he did not even invent laser or plasma swords, those have been in pulp sci-fi for a generation before him. He just made them that much more popular by bringing them to the screen. Like I said before, yes this thing looks like a lightsaber, but that is because Lucas’ artists (not Lucas, but his artists) got it right in terms of what a laser sword would look like in a practical universe. If Lucas wins and these are prevented from sale then he opens a floodgate to lawsuits and liscencing issues. Imagine if the estate of Arther C Clarke decided to sue every satelite maker and user for infinging on his concept. How about if Ben Bova sued NASA over their microwave energy experiment to try and beam power to a ground station from space. Or Isaac Asimovs estate for anthropmorphic(sp?) robots. Rodenberry’s estate for cell phones, etc… If that happened then the inovation would freeze in its tracks, people would stop trying to create anything that was inspired in any small way by science fiction, and we would never see the sci-fi futures we read about, watch, or imagine come to pass.