Is Klingon A Living Language? Human courts to decide.

[jcd11235 0]

Source Article

This could be an interesting case, for surprising reasons.

"A new lawsuit is boldly going where no man has gone before.

"Paramount Pictures and CBS are suing the producers of a Star Trek fan film for copyright infringement. The studios own the copyright to the Star Trek franchise, including six television shows and 12 movies.
…
"The reason this matters — whether you can copyright a language — is related to programming. Is computer code a language, and can you copyright it? It goes to a long-running case between Oracle and Google. The Hollywood Reporter summarizes: 'In a nutshell, Oracle looks to protect its Java API code from Google's attempt to use some of it for its Android software. A federal appeals court ruled in May 2014 that one could indeed copyright an API, leading to a collective freak-out by many in the tech industry.' Charles Duan at Slate explains that 'computer networking technology depends on languages, like the Wi-Fi protocol, so that multiple computers can communicate and understand one another.' If languages can be copyrighted, it would stifle innovation and create monopolies, he argues.

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[quade 3]

They might lose on that particular count, but Paramount and CBS will win overall. It's not simply Copyright, but also Trademark. And while Paramount and CBS might lose the Copyright on Klingon, they could still retain the Trademark.

The real issue is how aggressive they've been in defending it.

If they haven't pursued the "Klingon Language Institute" with C&Ds and the like, they could also lose the Trademark battle.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BIGUN 1,051]

Qochbe' vIneH. vaj 'oH lutmeyvam juppu'wI' chaH, chaq luj chaH.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[jcd11235 0]

BIGUN

Qochbe' vIneH. vaj 'oH lutmeyvam juppu'wI' chaH, chaq luj chaH.

A proud graduate of the Klingon Language Institute?

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[muff528 3]

I bet that drives your spell checker up a wall.

[gowlerk 1,904]

BIGUN

Qochbe' vIneH. vaj 'oH lutmeyvam juppu'wI' chaH, chaq luj chaH.

Google translate auto detect guesses that it's Hindi. Really? Google isn't geeky enough to understand Klingon?

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[jcd11235 0]

gowlerk

Google isn't geeky enough to understand Klingon?

Bing is.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[Guest]

jcd11235

Source Article

This could be an interesting case, for surprising reasons.

"A new lawsuit is boldly going where no man has gone before.

"Paramount Pictures and CBS are suing the producers of a Star Trek fan film for copyright infringement. The studios own the copyright to the Star Trek franchise, including six television shows and 12 movies.
…
"The reason this matters — whether you can copyright a language — is related to programming. Is computer code a language, and can you copyright it? It goes to a long-running case between Oracle and Google. The Hollywood Reporter summarizes: 'In a nutshell, Oracle looks to protect its Java API code from Google's attempt to use some of it for its Android software. A federal appeals court ruled in May 2014 that one could indeed copyright an API, leading to a collective freak-out by many in the tech industry.' Charles Duan at Slate explains that 'computer networking technology depends on languages, like the Wi-Fi protocol, so that multiple computers can communicate and understand one another.' If languages can be copyrighted, it would stifle innovation and create monopolies, he argues.

It (Klingonese) is an artificial language, created by a (censored) whom I indirectly know. I do not know, however, whether he signed over the rights to Paramount. He may yet own part or all of it. I'm going to guess that Paramount could not care less but this invented language is the (censored)'s sole claim to fame, and the lucre that comes with it. Short version though is that it (the written and spoken Klingon language) is an invention, an artificial construct, created out of whole BS cloth, and therefore subject to ownership and restrictions.

I don't normally side for (censored)s, but I have to come down on the creator/owner's side on this one.

Now whether Paramount wishes to look silly for enforcing copyright on it is another matter. As always, follow the money. If you're going to use someone else's creation for your own purposes, whether for profit or not, always get an agreement in writing, consult a bloodsucker (read: attorney) and pay the owner the required licensing fees. Then you can do what you want with the owner's blessing. Can't afford it? Then create your own.

There is no comparison to Java API. That's patent, not copyright. Just as with copyright, it's misused American law which does not serve the public interest (read: Sono Bono Copyright Extension Act - aka Mickey Mouse Protection Act), but it's still on the books. One wags one's ass at the Hollyweird lawyers at one's peril.
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[quade 3]

markharju

It (Klingonese) is an artificial language, created by a (censored) whom I indirectly know. I do not know, however, whether he signed over the rights to Paramount.

Standard practice in Hollywood is that writers and consultants are contracted to do "work for hire" and as a result everything they create "for hire" (for a project) therefore belongs to the the company. This includes material the writers create "on spec" and the Hollywood studios later purchase on a wink and a nod agreement. The system is (as far as I know) unique to the US and differs from virtually every other system writers have in other media such as stage plays or books.

There are advantages and disadvantages to it, but it has been standard practice almost from Hollywood's inception. Paramount is definitely part of the Hollywood deal with The Writers Guild. The main advantage from the Guild's perspective has to do with royalty payments for credited writers and larger buyout payments for consultants without the need to keep track of who wrote what sentence in a product perhaps employing dozens of various levels of writers. That's the main difference between films and books or plays. A book or play generally has one writer. A film or TV series might have dozens all doing multiple variations on each other's work.

Marc Okrand, or heirs in the case of his death, would almost certainly have no Copyright ownership claim of it.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jcd11235 0]

markharju

***Source Article

It (Klingonese) is an artificial language, created by a (censored) whom I indirectly know. I do not know, however, whether he signed over the rights to Paramount. He may yet own part or all of it. I'm going to guess that Paramount could not care less but this invented language is the (censored)'s sole claim to fame, and the lucre that comes with it. Short version though is that it (the written and spoken Klingon language) is an invention, an artificial construct, created out of whole BS cloth, and therefore subject to ownership and restrictions.

I don't normally side for (censored)s, but I have to come down on the creator/owner's side on this one.

Now whether Paramount wishes to look silly for enforcing copyright on it is another matter. As always, follow the money. If you're going to use someone else's creation for your own purposes, whether for profit or not, always get an agreement in writing, consult a bloodsucker (read: attorney) and pay the owner the required licensing fees. Then you can do what you want with the owner's blessing. Can't afford it? Then create your own.

There is no comparison to Java API. That's patent, not copyright. Just as with copyright, it's misused American law which does not serve the public interest (read: Sono Bono Copyright Extension Act - aka Mickey Mouse Protection Act), but it's still on the books. One wags one's ass at the Hollyweird lawyers at one's peril.
.

Did you read the source article?

"Marc Okrand, who created Klingon in 1984, and published the first Klingon dictionary in 1985, agrees. 'Languages are something that you should use and you should feel free to use them and be encouraged to use them,' he tells NPR's Michel Martin. 'And not worry about someone standing over your shoulder saying: yes, you can say that; no, you can't; yes, you can use that language; no, you can't. Of course you can, and you should.'"

The creator of the language believes it should be free for anyone to use.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[Guest]

jcd11235

******Source Article

It (Klingonese) is an artificial language, created by a (censored) whom I indirectly know. I do not know, however, whether he signed over the rights to Paramount. He may yet own part or all of it. I'm going to guess that Paramount could not care less but this invented language is the (censored)'s sole claim to fame, and the lucre that comes with it. Short version though is that it (the written and spoken Klingon language) is an invention, an artificial construct, created out of whole BS cloth, and therefore subject to ownership and restrictions.

I don't normally side for (censored)s, but I have to come down on the creator/owner's side on this one.

Now whether Paramount wishes to look silly for enforcing copyright on it is another matter. As always, follow the money. If you're going to use someone else's creation for your own purposes, whether for profit or not, always get an agreement in writing, consult a bloodsucker (read: attorney) and pay the owner the required licensing fees. Then you can do what you want with the owner's blessing. Can't afford it? Then create your own.

There is no comparison to Java API. That's patent, not copyright. Just as with copyright, it's misused American law which does not serve the public interest (read: Sono Bono Copyright Extension Act - aka Mickey Mouse Protection Act), but it's still on the books. One wags one's ass at the Hollyweird lawyers at one's peril.
.

Did you read the source article?

"Marc Okrand, who created Klingon in 1984, and published the first Klingon dictionary in 1985, agrees. 'Languages are something that you should use and you should feel free to use them and be encouraged to use them,' he tells NPR's Michel Martin. 'And not worry about someone standing over your shoulder saying: yes, you can say that; no, you can't; yes, you can use that language; no, you can't. Of course you can, and you should.'"

The creator of the language believes it should be free for anyone to use.

Orkrand can believe that all he likes, but if he doesn't own the rights to it, he cannot dictate such terms to the owner (Paramount, I'm guessing). From this screed I'm assuming he doesn't own the rights, which confirms my earlier suspicions. See Paul Q's remarks on this as he is actually in the BS biz and I'm not (though I've lurked on the periphery for a while now and then)...

mh
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Guest]

Quote

Standard practice in Hollywood is that writers and consultants are contracted to do "work for hire" and as a result everything they create "for hire" (for a project) therefore belongs to the the company. This includes material the writers create "on spec" and the Hollywood studios later purchase on a wink and a nod agreement. The system is (as far as I know) unique to the US and differs from virtually every other system writers have in other media such as stage plays or books.

Paul, as with everything in H-land, it's subject to negotiation, and much depends upon how shrewdly the author and/or his agent negotiated the deal and got it past Paramount's legal staff. Writers usually get the short end of the stick but maybe he got lucky. However, I doubt it. Those battles almost always go to the studios.

BTW agreements that the creation of works and any patents, rights or other rewards associated with them are usually signed away in advance as a condition of hire by many of those in my field (IT security). One must be a shrewd negotiator (and have something The Man wants badly) in order to escape that trap. It's of course far worse for those in a field of creativity: to see one's works being exploited and monetized (and the goodies collected therefrom) by someone who didn't bake the bread, but still controls how said bread is eaten.

mh
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."