Laser device's dark origin
- Source: Global Times
- [08:26 August 06 2010]
- Comments
Not a force to be reckoned with, but rather a Class IV Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser on sale in over 70 countries. Photo: courtesy of WickedLasers.com
By Craig Curtis
As the saga of a lightsaber-like product by a Shanghai-based company that provoked Lucasfilm to give in to its anger draws to a close, the Global Times has sensed a disturbance remaining in the force.
On Tuesday, US-based Lucasfilm - the production company behind the Star Wars franchise - retracted a cease-and-desist order it issued to Wicked Lasers over the latter's Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser. The product was widely hyped by global media as a real-life lightsaber, the energy-blade weapon famously wielded by Jedi knights and Sith lords in Star Wars.
In its retraction, Lucasfilm recognized that Wicked Lasers had denied any association between their product and Star Wars.
The CEO of Wicked Lasers, Steven Liu, told the Global Times in an email that he was not inspired by the Star Wars movies in designing the product. "It is not a 'real-life lightsaber.' It's not possible to compare a real laser product to an imaginary movie icon," he said.
However, questions remain about t h e device's legality in China, as well as the safety issues involved in using the laser.
As a Class 4 laser, it is in the same class as most entertainment, industrial, scientific, military, and medical lasers, according to the American National Standards Institute.
The Wicked Lasers website claims that "this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That's why it's also the most dangerous laser ever created."
Although it is not illegal for the product to be sold in many countries, including the US, a Shanghai-based lawyer told the Global Times that sales of the device within China are not legal. "Even if it is for special purposes like medical or law enforce-ment, it takes strict application and rigorous procedures to get a license to sell to a very limited range of buyers," Bao Peilun said.
However, Liu said the product was available to buy in China. "We sell to China, but we do not have any customers there. We sell to all countries," he said.
