Disney Files Lawsuit Over Sabacc

Apparently Disney is cleaning up the digital space prior to the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story this May by going after some illegal gaming apps. This in from Variety:

Disney filed a federal trademark lawsuit on Thursday in an effort to block a mobile app based on a “Star Wars” card game.

At issue is “Sabacc,” the card game first referenced in “The Empire Strikes Back.” In the subsequent “Star Wars” novels, it is revealed that Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in a Sabacc game. Sabacc has appeared in various Lucasfilm-approved forms since then, including as a card game.

In 2015, a company called Ren Ventures began selling Sabacc as a mobile game. The company also applied for a U.S. trademark for the term “Sabacc,” which was registered in 2016. In May 2017, Disney challenged the registration, arguing it should be canceled because it was likely to create customer confusion.

Attorneys for Ren Ventures have countered that Lucasfilm never bothered to trademark “Sabacc.” On books and games where the term “Sabacc” appeared, Lucasfilm used the “Star Wars” trademark to distinguish it.

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