CBS banned the use of the name "Starfleet"

[Gary7]

The more freedom the fan productions are given, the more engaging they can be, attracting attention to the whole Star Trek franchise... which in turn makes CBS money. It's so petty and short sighted of them to get all bent out of shape over a word like "Starfleet." This is a word that has been used outside of Star Trek. There's nothing so incredibly unique about it. "United Federation of Planets" is unique enough. The Federation? Hah... There have been so many "federations", so absolutely out of CBS reach.

 

[Squiggy]

But using "Starfleet" and then doing nothing but Star Trek related stuff inside sort of removes any ambiguity.

 

[Firebird]

The more freedom the fan productions are given, the more engaging they can be, attracting attention to the whole Star Trek franchise... which in turn makes CBS money. It's so petty and short sighted of them to get all bent out of shape over a word like "Starfleet." This is a word that has been used outside of Star Trek. There's nothing so incredibly unique about it. "United Federation of Planets" is unique enough. The Federation? Hah... There have been so many "federations", so absolutely out of CBS reach.

I think you missed the bit where it was discovered the promoters were asking for money by using IP owned by CBS/Paramount. CBS can make the money, non-licensed or unauthorized fans cannot and should not.

 

[Gary7]

But using "Starfleet" and then doing nothing but Star Trek related stuff inside sort of removes any ambiguity.

And is "warp drive" a hot phrase? "Turbo lift"? "Saucer section"? "Energize"? Where does it all end?

I think you missed the bit where it was discovered the promoters were asking for money by using IP owned by CBS/Paramount. CBS can make the money, non-licensed or unauthorized fans cannot and should not.

Well, I agree making money on the Star Trek name is a different story. But that's about the whole franchise. The debate was about the use of a particular word... I don't see a problem with "starfleet," unless it's an owned trademark.

 

[Professor Zoom]

And is "warp drive" a hot phrase? "Turbo lift"? "Saucer section"? "Energize"? Where does it all end?

I think it ends when you are clearly running a for profit Star Trek convention.

Well, I agree making money on the Star Trek name is a different story. But that's about the whole franchise. The debate was about the use of a particular word... I don't see a problem with "starfleet," unless it's an owned trademark.

The debate was actually whether or not a convention can use a word.

 

[Squiggy]

And is "warp drive" a hot phrase? "Turbo lift"? "Saucer section"? "Energize"? Where does it all end?

When you stop charging people to participate?

It's a pretty simple concept. You can gather and celebrate Star Trek all you want, you just can't sell tickets to do so.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

This also could be a case where a licensee for Star Trek conventions has asked the licensor (P/CBS ) to intercede.

 

[Mudd]

It's a trademark issue rather than a copyright issue, most likely.

 

[Sgt_G]

Star Fleet Battles is actually licensed through the Franz Joseph estate as it is 100% based of his "Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual"

Yes, true. That is, until Paramount / CBS discovered it and negotiated a separate license agreement. SFB uses items from the TV shows (TOS & TAS) that aren't in the Tech Manual. Steve Cole has publicly confirmed all this before, and told me once the first checks out the door every month, before the light bill or water bill or building rent gets paid, are the royalty checks to CBS and Franz Joseph to keep the licenses in good standing. He's not going to do anything to jeopardize those contracts, so when CBS says something like "we don't want you to use one-word STARFLEET", he uses the two-word version Star Fleet.

It's a trademark issue rather than a copyright issue, most likely

Yes, exactly. And trademark (and patent) law is different from copyright law in that you MUST defend against any and all infringement, or you risk losing in court and have your trademark/patent be voided.

 

[cultcross]

Yes, exactly. And trademark (and patent) law is different form copyright law in that you MUST defend against any and all infringement, or you risk losing in court and have your trademark/patent be voided.

This. In order to maintain their trademark which they self evidently would want to, the owner must object to unlicensed uses, or the word will get to the point where it is considered generic, and will lose protection. Escalator, linoleum, yo-yo, kerosene, even heroin, all once trademarked and now considered generic terms in the US, in many cases because the owners were cavalier in protecting them. It's this reason that Coca Cola get cross about people using their trademark 'Coke' with a small 'c' as a generic term. They would haughtily point out that Coke is a protected name for a cola flavoured soft drink. Starfleet, and even Starfleet Academy, are registered trademarks so must be defended. Especially where someone else is making money from your trademark.

In the early 00s there was a rush of fan websites getting C&D letters about the use of fonts which had been created as copies of those used in show marketing - WB properties in particular like Buffy. We got a lot of "won't someone think of the children?!?!" then too, but it's the same dilemma - the protection of IP, especially of a going concern (Buffy still is even now, thanks to comics) is necessary. It's fine to talk about the show, review it, obsess over it, gather to celebrate it, but once you start using trademarks to do so, or copyrighted IP, or start making it appear that your actions are sanctioned or licensed, you are going to have lawyers knocking.

The Federation? Hah... There have been so many "federations", so absolutely out of CBS reach.

As a generic word, yes, probably not trademarked. But use it in creative works (such as leaflets, posters, videos) in a context that makes people associate it with the "Federation" seen in official Star Trek productions and you certainly wouldn't be outside CBS' grasp. Copyright is broader in that context than trademark.

 

[Matthew Raymond]

Alas, if only someone had seen this coming!

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Does that mean they have to sue FOX or Disney? "You and whose starfleet, Commander?"

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Does that mean they have to sue FOX or Disney? "You and whose starfleet, Commander?"

"Dangerous to your starfleet, Commander, not to this battle station!"

"The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet. It'd take a thousand ships with more fire power than I've...."

 

[publiusr]

Back to this then I guess
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/United_Earth_Space_Probe_Agency

 

[ian128K]

It would appear that neither CBS nor Paramount own a trademark on "Starfleet", at least according to this Justia search I performed of trademarks containing the word:

https://trademarks.justia.com/search?q=starfleet

 

[Matthew Raymond]

It would appear that neither CBS nor Paramount own a trademark on "Starfleet", at least according to this Justia search I performed of trademarks containing the word:

https://trademarks.justia.com/search?q=starfleet

That just means that there aren't any registered trademarks. A trademark can still be enforceable, even if the trademark wasn't registered at the time of infringement. You'd have to prove that CBS/Paramount never published anything claiming it was a trademark.

 

[uniderth]

We still haven't answered the question if CBS holds an active trademark to STARFLEET (one word) in the categories of Events and Festivals.

Trademarks need to be registered in a particular category for protection in that category. An example - the SHAZAM! App - Warner Brothers can't do a blessed thing because when they registered (and the 2 re-registrations)for the word they did not cover "Electronic Applications" and someone came along and snagged it. Warners literally holds the trademark use of the word SHAZAM for every possible category - except that one!

We can assume they hold a trademark for STAR TREK in the category of Events and Festivals since CREATION has licenced from them for years.

So it would appear, based on this case that, you can in fact swipe a trademark out from somebody else as long as it is in a category that doesn't already have it registered.

 

[Matthew Raymond]

So it would appear, based on this case that, you can in fact swipe a trademark out from somebody else as long as it is in a category that doesn't already have it registered.

Absolutely. For instance, Linus Torvalds owns the "Linux" trademark with regard to software, but there's also Linux detergent: