Do we even know for a fact that Vic or Huston Huddleston had heard of or read the book?
STC's Lolani
- Thread starter Jay
- Start date
Point. And unless the book's author actually makes a complaint then ther doesn't seem to be much of an issue here.
I think if you took any television episode ot film and looked around you'd find some other work eerily similar done previously.
you're kidding, right?
Why? If the author doesn't see something actionable then what will happen?
All we have at present is a possible allegation. Nothing has been actually proven and no one has made a formal complaint.
The author has actually taken legal action in a way that doesn't affect Continues but still makes sure his material is provably his. What that is he didn't say. Frankly, I wouldn't be that kind.
But does that prove STC ripped him off? That's what the issue is. Was there deliberate plagarism and is the author making that claim?
What does that mean? It's obvious his material is provably his: there's a copyright on his book. Was there any doubt that the book he published wasn't his?
The author proving he owns his own material is different than proving someone lifted material from his book.
No offense, but I'm getting the feeling like you haven't read what Steve Wilson has written on the matter. I think you should take a look at both articles. He says he doesn't want to come out and say his opinion, but he very obviously thinks he's been ripped off and I agree. There are too many point for point similarities. Certainly more than enough to make a strong case in court.
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He dances a bit around it without actually making the charge. I can see where he feels he would have a case. I can also see that being a Trek fan he might also be reluctant to really go after this because it would certainly get on CBS' radar and spell trouble for a least one fan production if not others in the wake of it.
I find it odd that he was seeking copyright (protection) only recently quite sometime after already having his work published. He should have done that right from the beginning.
He is still only alleging plagarism. If he wants it proven then he'll have to make it more formal that the writers credited with the episode (either one or all of them) knowingly stole his work.
And an allegation is not proof.
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What do you mean seeking "seeking copyright (protection)"? Do you mean filed with the Copyright office?
In any case, if you write Copyright 2016 by MyName on a work it is automatically considered Copyrighted, albeit it is safer to file a copy of it with the Copyright office. The only protection you have is to send a C&D and perhaps file suit if someone violates said Copyright.
In any case, if you write Copyright 2016 by MyName on a work it is automatically considered Copyrighted, albeit it is safer to file a copy of it with the Copyright office. The only protection you have is to send a C&D and perhaps file suit if someone violates said Copyright.
He consulted a copyright attorney. As soon as he wrote the work and published it it should have been copyright in his name. What other protection does he need? If he is absolutely certain he's been ripped off then why doesn't he issue a C&D and compel STC to remove the episode from circulation? In the least STC would have to prove they didn't knowingly use his ideas.
Or maybe he's not really certain that his work was actually stolen.
You can't copyright an idea. It's the execution of that idea that's protected. Perhaps someone who has read Taken Liberty and viewed "Lolani" could say whether or not there are more details shared then just the premise and plot. Are characters portrayed on screen as described in the text? Are individual scenes structured along the same lines with similar dialogue? That would be far more damning evidence of both plagiarism and infringement than shared plot beats.
As for plagiarism, in the absence of shared character descriptions, individual scenes, and lines I'd have to know whether or not the writers of "Lolani" had read Taken Liberty. The story beats strike me as a generic, predictable result based on a shared premise and I've seen far too many writers cry "plagiarism" over such things to make a judgement without more information.
As for plagiarism, in the absence of shared character descriptions, individual scenes, and lines I'd have to know whether or not the writers of "Lolani" had read Taken Liberty. The story beats strike me as a generic, predictable result based on a shared premise and I've seen far too many writers cry "plagiarism" over such things to make a judgement without more information.
Much of what, the author claims was similar aren't just similarities between Lolani, and Taken Liberty, rather they were similarities between Taken Liberty and Star Trek. Slave woman emitting pheromones, which could control men.... This was established in Enterprise, which was released before Taken Liberty was published. Reading minds telepathically... in Star Trek we call that a Mind Meld, and that has been around since the 1960s.
Since a lot of the specific examples he cites, have been part of the Star Trek continuity before his book was published, I have a hard time considering them as part of any plagiarism... What about the overall story of the work? Could that have been plagiarized?
Since a lot of the specific examples he cites, have been part of the Star Trek continuity before his book was published, I have a hard time considering them as part of any plagiarism... What about the overall story of the work? Could that have been plagiarized?
I think this could be the root of it. My wording was poor upthread. So the issue is whether the author really believes his story was plagarised. If he is not willing or prepared to challenge STC then perhaps he's not wholly convinced they knowingly lifted the story right from his book.
Now there are other questions. Who inititated the story of "Lolani" for STC? Was it a kernel of an idea that was then brainstormed into its final form or was it knowingly lifted from an existing work? It's not impossible for someone(s) to come up with something (unknowingly) eerily similar to an existing work. It has happened before numerous times.
I will say that it would be the height of stupidity (and arrogance) to copy someone else's work without making a concerted effort to make it more your own, so to speak.
I'm seeing a lot of mental gymnastics trying to absolve Continues here. I really don't have the energy to go after it point by point. All I will say is that I understand people hear love Continues and want to protect the thing they are emotionally invested in. Remember, though, that if you don't condemn bad behavior it will keep happening until someone gets in real trouble and then the fun ends for everyone. This has already happened in one film production. Making excuses that don't hold water isn't going to protect you when the hammer finally falls.
There are no mental gymnastics... The author himself listed a number of similarities, that were in Star Trek Works, that were released before his story was published. Orion slave Girls emitted mind altering pheromones in Enterprise as an example, mind melds as another.
If we cast off the similarities, that already exist between this particular work, and Star Trek in general, (which we should) we are left with an outline of the story, which admittedly is strikingly similar. But there are differences as well. In Taken Liberty, the slave girl was serving on the ship in question, hiding as a human. In Lolani, she was an actual slave girl... in Taken Liberty, the protagonist fakes her death by suicide, in Lolani, the protagonist kills herself rather than live a life of slavery...
I get it, this guy sees his story in Lolani, and if I wrote Taken Liberty, I suspect I would see it there too. I just think, it's reckless to throw around plagiarism charges, ESPECIALLY when the Author himself chooses not to level it (even though he insinuates it)....
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