Quick Question for the Published Trek Writers Here

[Shatmandu]

Hiya.

Spoilers for the new film, I suppose.

Over on the Trek XI board, we were discussing the Kobayashi Maru sequence in the new film.

Not knowing the same scenario had been used in a book, I wrote:

I didn't care for how it was played and how he changed the program.

Kirk should have played it perfectly straight until his modifications. The way he did it, they knew something was up. No surprise.

Let them think it's just another routine test, then pull the rug out.

Second was what he did to the program. It seemed a little pedestrian: they drop shields, we fire. Feh.

With someone with Kirk's ego, they should have done this:

1. Have Kirk tell Uhura to let him broadcast to the Klingons.
2. He announces himself: "This is Captain James T. Kirk."
3. The Klingons immediately stop firing and come on screen, apologizing, saying that they've heard of him, how honored they are to meet him, and offering to assist in the rescue.
4. Kirk pulls out the apple and smirks up at Spock.

Joe, fin

Then a nice poster named aelius responded with:

They couldn't do that because it would have infringed on copy written material from the novel Kobayashi Maru. That was more or less exactly what he did in the book and thus it was out of bounds for the movie.
Don't get me wrong, I think that would have been perfect. That was my favorite line in the book. But like the man says, "You can't always get what you want".

Is that correct? If Paramount owns the right to Star Trek, couldn't they use an idea that happens to be similar to a passage from one of the licensed books?

My knowledge of copyright law is limited to how to spell it correctly.

Thanks much.

Joe, tag line here

 

[Trent Roman]

The company owns anything published under its license. When and if it wants to use material from licensed properties elsewhere, it is entirely free to do so.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Christopher]

There'd be nothing to prevent the filmmakers from adapting the scene Julia Ecklar wrote for The Kobayashi Maru. We know because it already has been adapted. An issue of DC's TOS comic, "Star-crossed Part 1" by Howard Weinstein, depicted Kirk's Kobayashi Maru exactly the same way Ecklar did, aside from a few changes of dialogue.

And I agree that Ecklar's version would've been better than what we got. Indeed, it would've suited this cocky version of Kirk even better than the original.

 

[Stevil2001]

Diane Carey also used the same cheat in the novel version of Starfleet Academy-- Cadet David Forester deduces that that's what Kirk must have done to cheat, as if you either weaken the Klingon vessels or strengthen your own vessel, the program will just send more and more of them at you and you'll lose anyway. Forester then implements the same change himself. (I think. I may be mingling my memory of the novel with that of the strategy guide. I never did finish the game.)

 

[Shatmandu]

That's what I thought. Thanks, gentlemen.

Joe, full of grate