First it was lasers, and now it's a computer application that has Lucasfilm Ltd. heading to court over alleged violations of its “Star Wars” trademarks.

Earlier this year, the company tangled with a Hong Kong-based company that manufactured a laser that Lucasfilm argued too closely resembled the light sabers wielded by the likes of Luke Skywalker.

Now, the company has filed a trademark infringement suit against Encinitas, Calif.-based Jedi Mind Inc. over a computer application that Jedi Mind says can detect brain waves and allow users to play computer games or run software applications by thought.

Jedi Mind offers three such products, one of which is called Jedi Mouse.

This was too much for Lucasfilm, which had already sent Jedi Mind two cease-and-desist letters over the use of the word “Jedi” in its name.

In its suit, filed Aug. 17 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Lucasfilm holds that the alleged trademark infringement will cause confusion in the marketplace and harm its business and reputation.

Whether this will be viewed as a case of the empire strikes back a move to the dark side may well be a job for a jury.