Published on: 8. May 2026

Star Wars: Use the Force (of IP)!

The Empire and IP

May the Force be with you! Fans around the world celebrate Star Wars Day on 4 May. Why this particular date? Well, the pronunciation of the date ‘May the 4th’ is very similar to the beginning of what is arguably the most popular line from the space saga: ‘May the Force be with you’. Incidentally, the phrase has been registered as a word mark since 2020 (EM018300364).

The pun was reportedly first made on the occasion of Margaret Thatcher’s accession to power (…the dark side of the Force?!) on 4 May 1979. For years now, 4 May has become established as a day of celebration for the global fan community. Only the city of Los Angeles celebrates on 25 May – in memory of the local premiere of the first film in the series there in 1977.

Since then, Star Wars has become one of the world’s most commercially successful film series (the rival sci-fi series Star Trek cannot quite keep up). Thanks to a constant stream of new ‘spin-offs’ such as TV series, books and games, the Empire continues to grow. Nor can the socio-cultural influence of this space saga be overestimated; its popularity and reach probably even surpass those of James Bond, Harry Potter or the Marvel superheroes.

Generating billions in turnover through intellectual property rights

At the outset, no one probably expected things to ever go this far – except perhaps George Lucas. The director, writer and producer agreed to a reduced fee for the first “Star Wars” film in 1977, but secured extensive merchandising rights. As the unprecedented success of the first film became apparent, Lucas made full use of all relevant intellectual property rights: amongst other things, he secured protection for toy figures of the protagonists, robots and spaceships, and registered their names as trade marks.

Over the years, Lucas, through his production company Lucasfilm and other partners, brought a sheer deluge of merchandising products onto the market. Thanks not least to a clever intellectual property strategy, merchandising related to the films is estimated to have generated over 70 billion dollars in revenue by 2018. This would make Star Wars the most successful film franchise in the world.

Well-protected heroes

US Design Patent US277208S: Ain´t he cute?!

The heroes of the saga are thoroughly protected by industrial property rights. The character of Master Yoda, for example, was registered as a design under number US265754S (not accessible) [PDF, 92 KB] . The sinister Darth Vader is registered as a three-dimensional EU trade mark (EM 005896601), as is the design of the Imperial ‘stormtroopers’ (including EM005896311). There is also a word mark for ‘Lord Darth Vader’ (DE 990370), as well as one for his adversary Obi-Wan Kenobi DE 39609975. As for the Skywalkers, almost all family members are protected by trade mark law, such as Shmi (DE 39609849) and Anakin (DE 39609976).

Lucasfilm had at one point registered “Princess Leia” as a trade mark in Nice Class 21, i.e. for combs, sponges, brushes, etc. (DE1074340; 1984–2004). The names of characters from the more recent films are, of course, also protected as trade marks for various merchandising classes, such as “Poe Dameron” EM018300375) or “Kylo Ren” (EM014355986). The name of the popular “Baby Yoda” from “The Mandalorian”, Grogu, is also a registered trade mark EM018345670); this also includes his “Hover Pram”, i.e. the floating cradle (EM018273234).

The spacecraft is the studio´s

However, Lucas was unable to secure the intellectual property rights for some of the most popular characters and devices: the design for the cute, beeping robot ‘R2D2’, for example, was registered by Twentieth Century Fox ( US251628S (not accessible) [PDF, 46 KB] ), as was the Rebels’ ‘X-Wing’ spaceship (US250480S (not accessible) [PDF, 82 KB] ). The studio also registered the design of the Empire’s small fighter spacecraft (“Toy spacecraft”, US254081S (not accessible) [PDF, 101 KB] ). However, as Twentieth Century is now also part of Disney, all the rights are once again held by a single (corporate) entity.

Well protected, galactically successful

In his global marketing strategy, Lucas made sure at the time to secure the German pronunciations of his characters with the DPMA, for example as word marks such as “Erzwo-Dezwo R2D2” (DE trademark 971997)) or “Ce-Dreipeo C3PO” 396099718). The famous “Star Wars” logo was also registered in German as a word and figurative mark (DE971996). Even grotesque or comical supporting characters, who appear in the films for only a few moments, have been brought to market with design protection as toy figures, such as “Jabba the Hutt” ( US 277211S (not accessible) [PDF, 93 KB] ) or a musical little blue creature called “Max Rebo” (US 277883S (not accessible) [PDF, 80 KB] ). Not to mention the imaginative machines such as the elephant-like combat robot “Imperial AT-AT” ( US266777S (not accessible) [PDF, 259 KB] ) with which countless children re-enacted the battle between the “dark side” and the Jedi.

Strangely enough, it seems that the most famous spaceship in the universe of all is not protected: the “Millennium Falcon”. Whilst there is an English word mark (EM018300370),the design has apparently not been registered as a design. Funnily enough, you can buy framed art prints online featuring ‘fake’ US patent specifications for the ‘Millennium Falcon’, whilst other (design) patents on offer – such as those for the ‘Imperial TIE Fighter’ ( US254081S (not accessible) [PDF, 101 KB] ) or the ‘AT-AT’ – are entirely genuine.

Bad feeling about this?

George Lucas sold his company and the rights to Star Wars to Disney in 2012. Since then, the entertainment giant has ensured that the universe continues to expand. The Star Wars creators have remained true to their successful intellectual property strategy to this day: the title of what is, for the time being, the final feature film, *The Rise of Skywalker*, has, like all the others, been registered as a European Union trade mark EM018051545). Naturally, more recent spin-offs such as the series “The Mandalorian” (including EM017965280)), “The Book of Boba Fett” (including EM018386086) and “Ahsoka” (EM018352872) are also protected under trademark law.

Lucasfilm went one step further by registering even catchphrases and quotes from the Star Wars universe as trade marks: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”, a line that appears as a “running gag” in all the films, has been registered as an EU trade mark since 2018 (EM017480435). “Jump to lightspeed” has been a registered word mark since 2004 (EM004050209).

What’s next? Have a look in the DPMAregister!

US277398S: Who wouldn´t love to ride such a thingy?

Anyone keen to find out what the makers of Star Wars might be working on next should take a look at Lucasfilm’s trademark applications in DPMAregister. Amongst the most recent applications there is “The Acolyte” EM018352876), the title of another TV series set in the Star Wars universe. It remains to be seen what “Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic” EM019291118), registered in December 2025, is all about…

Following the release of several TV series set in the Star Wars universe in recent years (“Obi-Wan Kenobi”, “Andor”) and the registration of the corresponding trademarks (EM018352869, EM018352873) were registered in advance, “Maul – Shadow Lord” (April 2026) was released as the most recent series spin-off to date, following “Skeleton Crew” (2024). In 2026, a feature film starring Grogu and the Mandalorian also hit cinemas.

Furthermore, Disney plans to bring three more Star Wars feature films to the big screen in the coming years. A feature film (starring Ryan Gosling in the lead role) has been announced for 2027. In 2025, Lucasfilm registered its title as a word mark: “Starfighter” (EM019175026. – Older people will probably still think of the Lockheed F-104 fighter jet, once notorious as the ‘widowmaker’...). At the same time, the word mark ‘Zero Company’ EM019172831)was also registered – what could be behind that...?

A constant stream of new ideas from the technical toolbox

US12022357B1: "Content presentation and layering across multiple devices"

Lucasfilm has not only perfected the commercial exploitation of its films, but is also constantly pushing the boundaries of cinematic special effects. For years, the company has consistently filed numerous patents in the field of computer graphics/CGI, most recently including ‘Optimisation for technical targets in audio content’ ( US12424234B2 (not accessible) [PDF, 2 MB] ) and ‘Motion capture using synchronised and aligned devices’ (US12483668B2 (not accessible) [PDF, 3 MB] ).

Other interesting new applications include “Content presentation and layering across multiple devices” (US12022357B1 (not accessible) [PDF, 4 MB] ), which could transform the 3D cinema experience, “Rendering images for non-standard display devices” (US12131419B2 (not accessible) [PDF, 2 MB] ), “Immersive content production system with multiple targets” ( US12236533B2 (not accessible) [PDF, 3 MB] ) and “Method and system for latent-space facial feature editing in deep learning-based face swapping” ( US12277738B2 (not accessible) [PDF, 2 MB] ).

Lucasfilm currently holds an impressive 413 entries in the DPMA’s DEPATISnet patent database (as at 21 April 2026).

Use the Force!

You can tell from the films that a great deal of research and development has gone into them. Critics sometimes grumble that the makers rely too heavily on visual effects, technical tricks and excessive merchandising rather than on plot and dramatic structure. They might well reply: “This is the way”. At the very least, they had this phrase (the Mandalorians’ motto) registered as a word mark EM018258235) in 2020…

Text: Dr. Jan Björn Potthast, Pictures: Getty Images, DPMAregister, DEPATISnet