he Force is strong in this trademark opposition. Disney is fighting a multi-million dollar tobacco company’s attempt to register the trademark Jedi in association with its line of e-cigarettes.

The word “Jedi” has no other meaning that being associated with the Star Wars franchise as it was coined by George Lucas and the mark first appeared in the 1977 film, Star Wars: A New Hope. Since this time, Lucasfilm has used the mark continuously in its movies, television shows, video games, and on merchandise. Lucasfilm even owns 22 registered ore pending trademarks for the JEDI mark. There can be no doubt but that when you hear the JEDI mark you automatically associate it with the Star Wars franchise.

Godfrey Phillips India Limited is an India-based tobacco company with reported annual revenue of $640 million. That’s a lot of cancer bucks.  The company was founded in 1844 and now distributes not only cigarettes but candies, gum, and looking to get into the ever popular but maybe not longed for this world e-cigarette and vap business. This comes at a time, when in September, it was announced that India is banning all e-cigarette sales and even creation of the product.

Why the company would even try to register this mark or is pressing forward is a mystery. The JEDI mark is so associated with Star Wars that no chance this mark ever gets register. If India is not allowing the creation of e-cigarettes any longer, I assume, that Godfrey plans to take its production overseas with sales abroad. This registration will flame out and I can’t imagine a big fight coming.