3DO sues LucasArts

3DO filed a lawsuit in the US District Court, Northern District of California against LucasArts last week for alleged copyright infringement. 3DO claims that LucasArts willfully and knowingly infringed upon 3DO's copyright on the title Star Fighter with its PlayStation 2 Star Wars game, Star Wars Starfighter.

3DO is basing the lawsuit on the grounds that it has spent significant amounts of money in the past promoting its own Star Fighter brand, LucasArts' Starfighter product is similar to its Star Fighter products, LucasArts' usage of the Starfighter name may cause confusion between products, and its Star Fighter products have been in production far longer than the LucasArts game.

3DO claims in its lawsuit that LucasArts was notified by the US Patents Office on February 28, 2001, of its copyright infringement yet still continued to sell its Starfighter product. 3DO also claims that the use of the Starfighter brand by LucasArts will cause "lost profits, dilution of its goodwill, and injury to its reputation." Specifically, 3DO feels that four statutes have been violated: The Lanham Act, Unfair Competition/False Designation of Origin, Unfair Competition/Deceptive Trade Practice, and Common Law Trademark Infringement.

3DO refused to comment on the lawsuit, and LucasArts was unable to be reached for comment. We'll have more on the lawsuit as the news breaks.