Why Even Princess Leia Can't Be "Borrowed" at All, Even as a Hologram
Really? We can't even reference her name? Well, sure. Why's that such a surprise? We're talking about intellectual property ("IP") here, after all, and the name Leia is a valuable piece of it for Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Lucasfilm. Anything associated with the name, any name or image, of any brand has the expressed protection of design patent, copyright and trademark law.
So What's the Big Deal Here Under Trademark Law?
When a company called "LEIA, Inc." decided to produce holograghic images designed to "float above the screen" (very much like how Leia first shows up in the first Star Wars movie exclaiming the iconic line "Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."), Lucasfilm cried foul, like many times before.
The studio said, “Because of the famous hologram scene involving Princess Leia, the frequent use of holograms in the Star Wars film franchise, and the frequent association of holograms with the Star Wars film franchise, applicant’s mark Leia, when used and registered in connection with applicant’s goods, immediately evokes Lucasfilm’s famous Leia character and its LEIA Marks."
You can see the connection, can't you? There's the rub. When looking at this company and the kind of technology they're apparently producing for all mobile devices (hopefully very soon, because that sounds so cool), would you reasonably think of Lucasfilm after looking at their name? ....LEIA, Inc.? It's not that hard of a sell, and that's where trademark law comes in.
A win for Lucasfilm?
Probably. On August 8 2016, LEIA, Inc. expressly abandoned its trademark application with the consent of Lucasfilm. In situations like this, there's typically a settlement agreement that limits how LEIA, Inc. can use the mark LEIA in the future. For now, it looks like LEIA, Inc. can continue using their corporate name LEIA, Inc. but you can monitor LEIA, Inc. right here along with the technology they've built. You can bet that Lucasfilm will be keeping a careful eye on them.