10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Trek History

Which legal battles stand out in Star Trek?

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The legal proceedings that Star Trek as a franchise has either been a participant or alluded to in are varied.

Occasionally, they are bizarre. Merchandising rights, distribution of old bootleg tapes and shoe lines are one thing, but identity theft and full-scale production without rights are another!

In fifty years, it turns out that Star Trek has had its time in the witness box many, many times over. Quite a few of these cases have been tossed out of court, owing to the ludicrous nature of the claims or the failure to provide direct evidence when needed. Still, others have involved a bitter fight all the way to the end.

While this article will of course discuss the most famous of these cases, there are so many others that it would boggle the mind to cover them all.

Therefore, we have narrowed it down to ten of the biggest and weirdest cases to ever come before a judge. But, be honest though, when you clicked on this header, you didn't think you'd be reading about Clarks Shoes now, did you?

10. The Shoe Is On The Other Foot

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C & J Clark archive via Wiki Commons

In 1980, Clarks of England, makers of TREK shoes, obtained the license to produce STAR WARS-branded sneakers for children. At nearly the same time, the Glen Shoe Company announced that it would begin producing a line of licensed Star Trek-branded shoes for children. Clarks was not happy about this.

This would put the two companies in direct competition with each other in the Sci-fi branded footwear market, though initially there was nothing to be done, as Clarks did not have the rights to produce Star Trek products. It did however have the rights to the TREK label.

They brought a suit in the Southern District of New York and sought to block the Glen Shoe Company from selling any of its proposed Star Trek shoes. However, the suit was denied as the court deemed that the TREK shoes, which were designed for adults and the Star Trek shoes, which were made for children with images of Mr. Spock and the Starship Enterprise on them, were not in competition with each other and there was little chance of confusion.

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Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick