Around Town: A case featuring a Klingon twist

Not every column begins with a prolegomena, but once in a while a current lawsuit is of such import that Around Town is forced to cover it.

It’s different with old lawsuits, like Will Gould’s successful defense of an accused school arsonist in 1893, or the story of La Cañada’s Rattlesnake James, the last man hanged in California. Old cases are part of local lore. Old cases inform La Cañadans of their roots. Old criminals are a lot more interesting than Valley Forge.

Our history defines us.

Once in a blue moon, a current lawsuit emerges, a case so significant to modern La Cañada society that there is no other choice.

La Cañada is not only home to more lawyers and litigants per square foot, it is also home to Star Trek fans.

A few years ago, an enterprising group of Star Trek fans went to Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites to raise more than $1 million to produce a film.

One million dollars! And the fans did produce a film called “Axanar.”

One million dollars! How could Paramount ignore it? This went far beyond sewing a couple of Starfleet uniforms and selling them on Etsy.

Predictably, Paramount filed a federal lawsuit against Axanar Productions for copyright infringement. You can read the complaint at www.documentcloud.org/documents/2660454-startreklawsuit.html.

And then, the focus shifted. A group called the Language Creation Society decided that the lawsuit was a challenge to the Klingon language and filed an application to file an amicus brief on the issue of whether the Klingon language is subject to copyright.

An “amicus” is a “friend of the court,” not a party to the lawsuit, who has a broader concern about the litigation.

The pro-Klingon amicus argues that the Klingon language is more than a few lines of dialogue owned by Paramount. Instead, it is an active language, with dictionaries, grammar and people who speak Klingon in daily life.

As authority, the brief quotes from the Ninth Circuit opinion in Norwood v. Vance, specifically, “...’deference’ is not Urdu or Klingon; it is a common English word,” for the proposition that there is no deference in Klingon.

Predictably, portions of the brief are in Klingon, in Klingon font, with footnoted translations and transliteration. Well worth reading.

Unfortunately for the Language Creation Society, after reading the brief, Judge Gary Klausner denied their application to file the brief:

“On April 27, 2016, Language Creation Society (“Amicus”) submitted an Application for Leave to File Brief as Amicus Curiae. Amicus argues in support of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss that the Klingon language should not be entitled to copyright protection. In analyzing and ruling on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, the Court does not reach the issue of whether languages, and specifically the Klingon language, are copyrightable. Therefore, none of the information provided by Amicus is necessary to dispose of the Motion to Dismiss.”

The motion to dismiss was also denied. “Although the Court declines to address whether Plaintiffs’ claims will prosper at this time, the Court does find Plaintiffs’ claims will live long enough to survive Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.”

And then, the case was referred for a settlement conference. Rumor has it that the case will settle. Last week, Axanar Productions tweeted that Star Trek (and Star Wars) producer J. J. Abrams announced that “because of Justin Lin, Paramount was dropping the lawsuit against Axanar.”

Lin is the director of Paramount’s “Star Trek Beyond,” to be released this July. As they say in Klingon, “peloS loQ ghogh vIghaj ‘e’,” which means “stay tuned.”

ANITA S. BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with the Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com and follow her on Instagram @realanitabrenner and Facebook/Twitter @anitabrenner.