• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Tardigrade lawsuit appealed

Status
Not open for further replies.
all that would have only ever applied to the Tardigrade itself (which IS kinda' similar)

It really isn't. And the issue is the same as with his characters, his stuff isn't defined to a degree that you can even claim copyright protection. He didn't really do any creature design. It's literally just a huge, 1:1 tardigrade. So any similarity with Ripper is because the person designing Ripper (and it is a distinct design) based him on the same animal Abdin's tardigrade is a wholesale copy of. Who'da thunk there'd be similarities? Even the fact that it's blue isn't really all that original. Because I remembered one of them from way back when they were sold in a local bookstore, I went to google and here's the first three rows that come up when you search "tardigrade plush":

https://www.flickr.com/photos/185130237@N05/?

185130237@N05

185130237@N05

There's a lot of blue going on here. Probably mostly owed to the fact that in pictures pictures of tardigrades are usually colored in either gray, brown, or blue.
 
My question for those who believe Abdin is right and CBS is wrong...

The Powers That Be already have an established record of paying for stories that turn out to be similar to a script in development. IIRC, "Arena" is called "Arena" because, when TOS production team noticed a similarity to Fredric Brown's 1944 story, they tracked it down and bought TV rights for it. Something similar happened with TNG's "Sarek". And the warp-capable tardigrade concept owes enough to the alien creatures featured in the "Voyager" episode, "Equinox".

what is the endgame?

Exactly. Didn't he want DSC pulled from production? He's three seasons late for that now.
 
Because I remembered one of them from way back when they were sold in a local bookstore, I went to google and here's the first three rows that come up when you search "tardigrade plush":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/185130237@N05/?
There's a lot of blue going on here. Probably mostly owed to the fact that in pictures pictures of tardigrades are usually colored in either gray, brown, or blue.

Indeed! I actually bought one in the pale tan because they didn't have brown in stock, but I noticed there were lots of blue ones!


Sasha befriending Ripper
by Ian McLean, on Flickr


Eaglemoss tardigrade, Ripper
by Ian McLean, on Flickr
 
Exactly. Didn't he want DSC pulled from production? He's three seasons late for that now.
It was a ham-fisted 'civil lawyer' move to try and force CBS to want settle.

- They asked for a complete injunction (read suspension) of any further production of ST: D.
- Asked that all currently streaming episodes be pulled (and broadcast is Canada suspended).
- That ALL existing copies of any and all ST: D episodes be destroyed.
- That Abdin was entitled to ALL profits made by CBS/Netflix from the episodes of ST: D that did stream/air.

The Judge of course didn't feel that such a sweeping injunction was appropriate at the time it was filed; and tabled the above demands until the case was tried/settled. I doubt the above 'demands' had much effect on making CBS want to settle as yes, they (aside from the injunction on production request, which could have been deemed 'reasonable' by the Judge if the pre-trial hard evidence presented with the filing was compelling..which it wasn't because Abdin had none, just the claim itself); were honestly outrageous at that stage of the proceedings.
 
It really isn't. And the issue is the same as with his characters, his stuff isn't defined to a degree that you can even claim copyright protection. He didn't really do any creature design. It's literally just a huge, 1:1 tardigrade. So any similarity with Ripper is because the person designing Ripper (and it is a distinct design) based him on the same animal Abdin's tardigrade is a wholesale copy of. Who'da thunk there'd be similarities? Even the fact that it's blue isn't really all that original. Because I remembered one of them from way back when they were sold in a local bookstore, I went to google and here's the first three rows that come up when you search "tardigrade plush":

https://www.flickr.com/photos/185130237@N05/?

185130237@N05

185130237@N05

There's a lot of blue going on here. Probably mostly owed to the fact that in pictures pictures of tardigrades are usually colored in either gray, brown, or blue.

It really is.
Yes, the characters "similarity" is really only a sign of both (the game AND Dis') completely generic character designs.

But a blue sparkling, man-sized FTL capable Tardigrade? That really is wild. Even if it's completely coincidental.

Hell, just take a normal mouse. Put it in red trousers and give it gloves, and you're gonna' get sued by Disney.

In general, I'm really more a fan of the "old-school" approach to copyright:

The Powers That Be already have an established record of paying for stories that turn out to be similar to a script in development. IIRC, "Arena" is called "Arena" because, when TOS production team noticed a similarity to Fredric Brown's 1944 story, they tracked it down and bought TV rights for it. Something similar happened with TNG's "Sarek". And the warp-capable tardigrade concept owes enough to the alien creatures featured in the "Voyager" episode, "Equinox".

Under that approach, they would have payed Abdin a lump sum, even though they came up with the idea on their own, because he still publicized the idea "first", even if it was still on development.

But make no mistake: That would have been pennies.

And in my opinion, he should have deserved those pennies. But the (modern American) law says otherwise. But also he would have deserved only that: Pennies.

Fighting this hard, and his dirty, and this publicly, for what is honestly only worth pennies, makes him look pretty indecent as of now.
 
Last edited:
Under that approach, they would have payed Abdin a lump sum, even though they came up with the idea on their own, because he still publicized the idea "first", even if it was still on development.
Under that approach? No. Fredric Brown's "Arena" was a finished, published story in a 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. On the other hand, in the case of DISCO, without infringement of copyright, the condition "even if it [Abdin's work] was still on development" [sic] delineates a completely different category that does not indicate "that approach" at all. What it indicates is the approach that CBS took: go on about their business.
 
I just re-read Abdin's entire blog (even the posts not about the game), and watched all the videos he's released for clarification.

The only mention of Tardigrades in his blog, (before the lawsuit posts), is just stating the fact that they can survive in space and other extreme environments, which is a real life fact. There is no mention of it being able to move faster than light, or helping people do it.

The Tardigrade first shows up (outside of the logo) in a short animation of it flying through space at the end of several 'teasers'. With no indication of how big it is, or if it is moving faster than light.

The first media depicting any interaction and size comparison between a human and Tardigrade first appeared in July 2017. 2-3 months after Discovery filmed their Tardigrade episodes, one week before the first Discovery trailer was released, and 2 months before Discovery aired.

There is no way they copied his idea for human sized FTL tardigrades, as it wasn't public knowledge before the episodes were written and filmed.
 
Last edited:
It really is.
Yes, the characters "similarity" is really only a sign of both (the game AND Dis') completely generic character designs.
If what you're trying to say here is that the characters in Abdin's game and DSC are similar then that is one thing you're right about. They're both tartigrades.
But a blue sparkling, man-sized FTL capable Tardigrade? That really is wild. Even if it's completely coincidental.
Ripper wasn't blue. As many have pointed out, Ripper was shown in blue light when he was released into space. But he obviously is not actually blue in color in the scenes on the ship. It's over, bro. Give it up. :)
 
On the other hand, in the case of DISCO, without infringement of copyright, the condition "even if it [Abdin's work] was still on development" [sic] delineates a completely different category that does not indicate "that approach" at all. What it indicates is the approach that CBS took: go on about their business.

In fact, as has happened before when episode and novel stories have been pitched, the refusal would be along the lines of "We already have a similar story in development." Not "Here is some hush money because you thought of it too."
 
But a blue sparkling, man-sized FTL capable Tardigrade? That really is wild. Even if it's completely coincidental.
The tardigrade Ripper wasn't the cause of the blue sparkling (the spores were), it wasn't capable of FTL (it was simply a navigator), and its color wasn't blue.

You've been told this, honestly, at least a hundred times now. You've been given links to official background materials and interviews, you've been shown photographs and videos, and you've read the court decision. It's not a subjective opinion that's up for debate like whether or not someone likes the show. You are quite simply wrong.

Yet you continue to put forward this false narrative to carry on the argument, even though you're supposedly no longer supporting Abdin. Enough. It looks bad, like you're doing this on purpose. You need to move on from this argument. I'm not going to have you getting into more hostile forty page fights over a widely debunked point.

If you have any complaints, take your comments to PM. Not here.
 
Last edited:
Just give the guy some money. They’re obviously wasting it on Discovery anyway.
Yes, because the reason Abdin's lawyers likely took the case on contingency wasn't because they were hoping for CBS to give them a quick pay out to make their nuisance suit go away. Let's create precedence for people to see that filing flimsy lawsuits pays, and encourage people to file them. "Pay the man" because "Discovery terribad", so who gives a shit that they didn't actually do anything wrong?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top