When Paramount Pictures sued a production company over a crowd-funded fan film called “Axanar,” Paramount asserted copyright over the Klingon language. On behalf of the Language Creation Society, Randazza Legal Group filed a pro bono amicus brief in the case, arguing that languages are not subject to copyright.
The brief states: “Given that Paramount Pictures commissioned the creation of some of the language, it is understandable that Paramount might feel some sense of ownership over the creation. But, feeling ownership and having ownership are not the same thing. The language has taken on a life of its own. Thousands of people began studying it, building upon it, and using it to communicate among themselves.” “It would not take a Vulcan to explain their logic – even the Pakleds would know that nobody can ‘own’ a language.”
The brief has been reported on by The Guardian, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, The Washington Post, VICE, Bloomberg BNA, Salon, Fox News, The Seattle Times, VICE Motherboard, Fusion, Law.com, Reason, BoingBoing, PRI’s The World, AV Club, The Wrap, TechDirt, TorrentFreak, Law360, News.com.au, Findlaw, Uproxx, The Recorder, Consumerist, FilmWeek, Newser, Inquisitr, Mental Floss, Public Knowledge, PJ Media, Lawyerist, Legal Insurrection, Entertainment.ie, The Register, UPI, Fansided, Golem (DE), Lawyer Herald, WIPR, The Financial Post, Popehat, This Week in Law, Overlawyered, Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog, Lowering The Bar, Slashdot, The Interrobang, TechnoLlama, Lizerbram Law, Mediaite, Observation Deck, PlayNation (DE), derStandard (DE), VistaNews (RU), Lenta (RU), 1701 News, Krypton Radio, The 1709 Blog, Common Sense Advisory, Michigan Standard, Techno-Liberty, Obsev, The Comeback, Joe.My.God., Star Trek Databas, the Back 40k, Newsbuss, Biederman Blog, and Airlock Alpha.
