Case dismissed! Discovery and Tardigrade game "not similar"
- Thread starter PicardSpeedo
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From the above:
^^^^^
Hahahahahaha! - If that's the case, they better prep for a copyright countersuit, since Star Trek was first in production in 1964 (55 years ago).
Not a new deadline."Wait!! Give more time to search all of CBS' records to find something, anything I can claim as a concrete connection!!!"
So the big deadline is now March 19th?
It's the original date given by the Judge to finish the discovery period.
Pun intended?
Ummmnn... Not intentionally, but I'll take credit for it.
I think it's kinda funny that Abdin is still trying to get copyright protection for the actual look of a Tardigrade.
"Items Protected by Copyright
Specific items protected by copyright: Abdin claims the following aspects of Tardigrades constitute the “heart of the work,” taken by Discovery‘s creators and “spun off derivatively”:
- A human-sized tardigrade capable of instantaneous teleportation across space.
- Floating blue dots representing space, rejecting CBS’ claim that the visual expression is a common one in science fiction, pointing to The Expanse as a recent example.
- The crude representation of a tardigrade in Abdin’s game, compared to the realistic depiction in Discovery, doesn’t mean the Trek creators didn’t copy it.
- Uniforms and spacesuits in Tardigrades that are similar to those depicted in Discovery."
Also, strange that he doesn't realize that his uniforms are actually similar to the ones from ENTERPRISE.
(EDIT: Spelling
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Wait. So if "Any person watching the two works will instantly see the similarities and even think they are the same production." were true, wouldn't that mean that it's so self-evident that a deadline extension would be unnecessary?
What am I missing?
What am I missing?
Drink this Kool-Aid.
Huh?
Season Three is already confirmed. Where are you getting the rumour of "a series of short treks" only?
probably Midnight's Cock or Doomedge or some channel like them
With respect to the tartigrade, sounds like Abdin's attorneys want to frame the issue as a dispute about the similarities between the DSC Tartigrade and the Abdin Tartigrade, when the real issue is whether or not you can copyright a tartigrade. The former argument is a lot easier for Abdin to make.
Doubt CBS will fall into this trap.
And yet Hollywood studios have repeatedly contested such cases all the way through trial and multiple appeals, usually ending up winning. They take protecting their IP very seriously, and IP is a very "all or nuthin'" kind of issue; you can't half-own something like Star Trek.
I can't disagree with you on this point. It's only prudent for a defendant and its legal counsel to constantly weigh costs/benefits surrounding legal action like this. But at this point, with no decision yet on CBS' motion to dismiss, there simply isn't enough data to press a case for settling. Acknowledging that it's always a possibility is an academic point right now.
Despite a joint statement issued at the time of the settlement in which "Axanar and Mr. Peters acknowledge that both films were not approved by Paramount or CBS, and that both works crossed boundaries acceptable to CBS and Paramount relating to copyright law," Peters and his surrogates have refused to repeat their acknowledgement Axanar "crossed [copyright] boundaries."
It's kind of hilarious, actually, the contortions to which Peters, his (now former) spokesman Mike Bawden and other surrogates, have gone to disavow what that joint statement, going so far as to imply that it was no joint statement at all, but something expressing only CBS/Paramount's side of things. You can read more details about that here, Did Peters Actually Admit Copyright Transgression?
I wouldn't characterize Abdin's argument quite like that. His pleading last week opposing CBS' motion to dismiss tries to make it seem that CBS' argument is that Abdin cannot copyright tardigrades as they exist in nature, and how stupid CBS must be to make that argument.
Then Abdin pivots to claiming that his specific expression of a tardigrade (i.e., human-sized and capable of instantaneous teleportation) is eligible for copyright protection and DSC's depiction is essentially the same. Abdin actually uses the words, "Any person watching the two works will instantly see the similarities and even think they are the same production." Um, yeah.
Trouble is, that's not CBS' argument at all. CBS argues that because tardigrades are well known for surviving in space, coming up with a way for them to travel through space isn't a far reach, and is the kind of thing scifi does all the time with creature; same with being human-sized — if you're going to feature microscopic creatures in your story you either have to enlarge them or shrink the humans (thanks, Ant Man and the Wasp) so they can interact. Marvel chose one way, CBS the other, but they're reflections of the same principle.
p.s. That Ant-Man link above is a NY Times article in which a scientist says of the tardigrades, “They remind me of the massive worms from ‘Dune,’” he said. Guess what those worms are known for? Providing the means for humans to achieve interstellar travel through use of a "fungusoidal" spice. Sound familiar? Spore-based space travel. Given Abdin's clear influence from Dune — borrowing of imagery and direct wording — it doesn't sound like his version of the tardigrade is altogether original.
He still must prove access; he can't, probably because it was extremely unlikely anyone working hard on Discovery did the digging necessary to find his game idea.
Or even accidentally come over it.
I had problems finding his stuff on STEAM even after it had been voted up for continued "game" consideration in the "Greenlight" contest.
It wasn't until all this started becoming way more public that it began to turn up easier in searches.
Tardigrades rule by Ian McLean, on Flickr
Abdin's attorneys want to have a word with you.
Actually, three words: 'Cease and Desist'
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I only found out about this due to this thread, but that's because the only games I play are South Park: The Stick of Truth and Lego Harry Potter.
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