Lucasfilm, the company founded by movie director George Lucas, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Chinese company that makes high-powered lasers similar to the "lightsaber" seen in Star Wars movies.

The manufacturer, a Shanghai-based company called Wicked Lasers, has been asked to either modify or stop producing the Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser. The product, which costs $230, is 4000 percent more powerful than a standard laser and can cause permanent blindness.

In the letter, which was released by CNN, Lucasfilm argues that the Pro Arctic Laser is a "highly dangerous product" that "was intended to resemble the hilts of our lightsaber swords, which are protected by copyright."

The letter also refers to media reports that describe the product as a "lightsaber." The film outfit says that the public was being misled into thinking that the product was "an official lightsaber device".

The laser is marketed to industrial and research customers. However, anyone can obtain the product through the company's website.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection had earlier found a significant rise in the importation of lasers. The maximum penalty for being caught with a laser as powerful as the Spyder III is $110,000. The regulations are meant to guard against laser attacks on commercial aircraft.