Using The Copyright Forcefulness May Attention Lucasfilm To Win Sabacc Lawsuit

Lucasfilm Ltd. together with Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC late filed a trademark infringement together with copyright infringement suit inwards the Northern California District Court against Ren Ventures Ltd, Sabacc Creative Industries Ltd., which created together with released inwards 2015 the “Sabacc” mobile game app, presently earlier the loose of the Star Wars The Force Awakens movie. The illustration is Lucasfilm Ltd. v. Ren Ventures Ltd, 3:17-cv-07249.

Han Solo cunningly used his Sabbac skills to win his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, from Lando Calrissian. The game was played, a long fourth dimension ago, inwards a galaxy far, far away, using cards, spell nosotros seem to play inwards the 21^st century by together with large on our phones.

Defendant Ren Ventures likewise owns the “Sabacc” U.S. trademark, inwards course of didactics 09 together with 41, for figurer games software together with amusement services. As this spider web log is virtually copyright, I volition non hash out the trademark infringement claim inwards detail.

The electrical load alleges that Defendants used protected industrial plant owned past times Plaintiffs, such as  images together with quotes from painting dialogues, on their website, Facebook page, together with other social media sites inwards guild to promote their app, such every bit “From a Cantina far, far away to your mobile device, welcome to the world’s largest Sabacc site.” Defendant’s “Ren Ventures” cite is inspired past times the Star Wars The Force Awakens graphic symbol Kylo Ren.

 What is the Sabacc game?

“Sabacc” is a fictional carte game which commencement appeared inwards the 1978 draft screenplay, Star Wars Episode V: The  Empire Strikes Back, nether the cite “Sabacca” , which was afterward changed to “Sabacc.” The game thus appeared inwards 3 novels virtually Lando Calrissian published inwards 1983. One of these novels, Lando Calrissian together with the Mindharp of Sharu, describes Sabacc’s rules, every bit stated every bit such inwards the complaint:

“The Sabacc deck comprises a issue of confront cards (including the Idiot, the Evil One, together with the Star) together with 4 suits of 15 pip cards (Flasks, Sabers, Staves, together with Coins). It is a betting game inwards which the finish is to complete alongside a mitt every bit closed every bit possible to positive or negative 23 without going over. At diverse intervals, the cards inwards a player’s mitt modify at random (the “Sabacc shift”) unless they are placed inwards an “interference field” that reveals their value to the other players.

The alone mitt that defeats a mitt of positive or negative 23 (“Pure Sabacc”) is a mitt comprising the Idiot, a two card, together with a 3 carte (the “Idiot’s Array).”

A Sabacc carte game was published past times Plaintiffs inwards 1989 together with over again inwards 2015. The game was likewise referenced inwards Star Wars comic books together with inwards the television receiver serial Star Wars Rebels “Idiot’s Array” episode inwards 2015.

Can a carte game endure protected past times copyright?

Could these rules endure protected past times copyright? Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act excludes protection of ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries, “regardless of the shape inwards which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied inwards such work.”

Therefore, the mere rules of a game cannot endure protected past times copyright. However, the Second Circuit explained inwards Affiliated Hosp. Prod., Inc. v. Merdel Game Mfg. Co. that “arrangement of the rules together with the mode of their presentation, [but] not their content” tin move endure protected past times copyright. Therefore, the agency the cards or the board game are designed, fifty-fifty the agency the instructions are written together with presented, tin move endure protected past times copyright.

However, the rules themselves cannot endure protected, every bit explained past times the Southern District Court of Texas inwards DaVinci Editrice SRL v. Ziko Games because, “[u]nlike a majority or painting plot, the rules together with procedures, including the winning conditions, that brand upwards a card-game scheme of play attain non themselves attain the artistic or literary content that is the hallmark of protectable expression.”

Can a tertiary political party register every bit a trademark a give-and-take protected past times copyright?

The respond if no, but… Is it possible for a unmarried give-and-take to endure protected past times copyright? Titles, names, brusque phrases, together with slogans are non protected past times copyright, together with it tin move endure argued that ‘Sabacc’ is the cite of a game. Plaintiffs attain non claim that they ain the copyright inwards ‘Sabacc’, only that the app:

“mimics the fictional Sabacc game… every bit good every bit the physical Sabacc carte games previously licensed together with authorized past times Plaintiffs. The names together with values of the suits (Coins, Flasks, Sabres, Staves), confront cards (e.g., the Evil One, the Star), together with hands (e.g., Pure Sabacc, Idiot’s Array) are identical.”

Plaintiffs seem to claim they ain the mutual police pull ‘Sabacc” trademark. One tin move combat that it was an oversight on their business office non to register the federal ‘Sabacc” trademark. Do. Or attain not. [register a federal trademark] There is no try.

Image is courtesy of Flickr user Camille Rose nether a CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.