A car wash located on the outskirts of Santiago, the capital of Chile, has found itself in hot water. Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios since 2012, has reportedly sued the business for copyright infringement. The bone of contention is the business's name, "Star Wash.
The owner of the carwash, Matias Jara, openly admits that the name was indeed inspired by the iconic 'Star Wars' movie franchise. According to Jara, the creative idea came from his daughter, who suggested the pun after visiting a Disney park in the United States.
Jara has fully embraced the theme, going beyond the name. Not only are the company's signs adorned with the iconic Star Wars font, but employees dress up as characters from the franchise in various social media posts. On the company's Instagram, individuals can be seen donning costumes such as Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Imperial Storm Troopers while cleaning cars.
Star Wash's predicament began when Jara began the process of registering his trademark with Chile's patent office, according to The Telegraph. At that point, the entrepreneur's legal team received a lawsuit from Lucasfilm, which sought to prevent the registration of the trademark.
The American film company claimed that the car wash's branding could give people the false impression that it was associated with the Star Wars brand, the lawyers said. But Jara disputes the claim, arguing that the name is different enough from the franchise to avoid confusion. He also claims that Lucasfilm's copyright doesn't extend to car washes the way it does to products like toys, furniture and beverages.
“We don’t make movies or sell their products or anything like that,” Jara said. Nonetheless, he did assert that Star Wash provides a “stellar” car cleaning service. Whether or not he can hold out against Lucasfilm is not clear.
“Of course this lawsuit is affecting us,” Jara said. “We’re a small business, and we’re spending on things we hadn’t budgeted for.”
Source: The Telegraph
