Real-Life Star Trek Battle of Axanar Is Heating Up

"CBS owns copyrights in the Star Trek television series, the first of which debuted in 1966 ("The Original Series"), while Paramount owns copyrights in Star Trek's movies. Both companies allege that the Defendants' (a) 20-minute short film entitled Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar, (b) written script for a feature film, and (c) current production of the Axanar film (collectively, "Axanar Works") are "substantially similar" to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works and infringes on their copyrights by lifting protectable elements such as the United Federation of Planets, "beaming up," Klingons, Vulcans, the Starship Enterprise, and spacedocks."

"Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in December 2015 and amended their complaint in March 2016, alleging copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and vicarious copyright infringement, (17 U.S.C. §§ 101, et seq.), and seeking a declaratory judgment, (28 U.S.C. § 2201 & 28 U.S.C. § 2202). Overall, the Amended Complaint identifies over 50 instances of infringement."

CBS and Paramount Pictures initiated a copyright infringement lawsuit against Axanar Productions and principal Alec Peters in December 2015, amended in March 2016. The plaintiffs own copyrights to Star Trek television series and films respectively. They allege that Axanar Works—comprising a 20-minute short film titled Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar, a feature film script, and ongoing production—substantially infringe their copyrights by utilizing protectable elements including the United Federation of Planets, beaming technology, Klingons, Vulcans, the Starship Enterprise, and spacedocks. The amended complaint identifies over 50 instances of alleged infringement. Despite J.J. Abrams' public statement in May 2016 suggesting the lawsuit would be dismissed, CBS and Paramount escalated litigation efforts. The case progressed through multiple motions, with summary judgment rulings advancing the matter toward its January 31 trial date.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law