Ellison Star Trek Lawsuit Settled
1 min readHarlan Ellison is satisfied with the settlement of his lawsuit against Paramount.
Ellison filed suit against Paramount and the Writers Guild of America in March, looking for an accounting and payment from merchandising, publishing and other exploitations of his famous teleplay, The City on the Edge of Forever.
The WGA was included because they failed to act on Ellison’s behalf after multiple requests. Ellison’s lawyer, John H. Carmichael, said at the time “Writers under that WGA agreement are supposed to get 25% of the revenue from the licensing of publication rights.”
The Crucible series (Crucible: McCoy-Provenance of Shadows, Crucible: Spock-The Fire, Crucible: Kirk-The Star to Every Wandering) of books used Ellison’s “unique story elements.” In addition to books, there was merchandise such as a Hallmark Christmas ornament of the “talking” Guardian of Forever which used actual lines that Ellison wrote for his teleplay.
Ellison posted on his website today, saying “The Star Trek lawsuit is over. I am pleased with the outcome. An ‘agreed-upon statement’ will be coming from me and my attorney John Carmichael and CBS/Paramount today or in the next two-three days. It is carefully worded. Wait for it. But, at bottom, three years’ litigation is completed. Lordy, I am tired. Smiling at last.”
Trektoday will post the statement when it becomes available.
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