The Court finds that the Axanar Works have objective substantial similarity to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works . . . Under the extrinsic test, the Axanar Works are substantially similar to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works. . . . This conclusion finds strong support in Defendants’ intent for the Axanar Works. ‘Defendants expressly set out to create an authentic and independent Star Trek film that [stayed] true to Star Trek canon down to excruciating details’ …

The lawsuit was filed a year ago against Alex Peters’ Axanar Productions proposed a prequel to The Original Seriesfocused on Garth of Izar, a character who appeared in a 1969 TOSepisode. The film would be set 21 years prior to the series, focusing on the Four Years War between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, a much-discussed period in Star Trekfandom, but one that has never been properly addressed in Star Trekcanon.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that the character of Garth isn’t “obscure,” as Axanar argued, but rather falls under copyright protection. Additionally, he points to the appearance of Klingons and Vulcans; the settings of Planet Axanar, Qo’noA, and Vulcan; and elements like a Klingon officer’s uniform from Star Trek VIas evidence of Axanarusing “copyright-protected elements” in the 20-minute preview video and production-ready script. CBS and Paramount are seeking up to $150,000 for every copyrighted element used in the film.

We will keep you updated on the jury’s ruling.

Original article from September 30, 2016:

It seems that J.J. Abrams comment during the Star Trek Beyondpress tour in May that the Axanar lawsuit were not so prophetic. Not only is the lawsuit that Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios filed against fan film production company Axanar Productions for copyright infringement late last year ongoing, but Abrams and Beyonddirector Justin Lin have been brought into the crossfire.