What I mean is, I do not believe that it is in CBS's interest to settle the Abdin case in order to avoid going to trial.
Because you think it will encourage others to file actions similar to Abdin's, right? But ask yourself what losing a case like this at trial would say to people? It would say that "you can win even with a weak case like this".If they can get what they consider to be a favorable settlement, then of course they should take it. But if it's not, then, no they really have a lot to lose by giving Abdin even a pittance
If the case is not dismissed, there is certainly at least a chance it will end up in trial. I have been trying to explain to you that that "chance" is where the settlement value is for CBS.
Yes, this is pretty much what I thought was going on. I doubt CBS had any intention of taking the case to trial unless Peters forced them to. What they wanted was to assert their copyright ownership and all of the associated rights.They may have spoken out of turn without knowing the particulars of the case (like the weak level of sympathy Trek fandom had for Alec, despite supporting the idea of fanfilms being able to be made without being sued) but from a PR perspective CBS/Paramount kind of had to limit things to a slap on the wrist.
Having Peters admit copyright infringement let the fans know that no matter how we may feel about CBS, they were within their rights in filing the lawsuit. Last thing they wanted was to make it look like big bad CBS was destroying this "little" Trek fan. Very bad optics.