10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Trek History

8. Spock Plates Cause Trouble

spock crying
CBS

The Hamilton Group is a company that primarily produces limited edition plates and it was one such plate that caused this legal action to be issued in 1984. They released an edition featured Mr. Spock, along with a statement that read that 'after a 90-day firing period, these editions will be retired and the masters will be destroyed, meaning that they can never be reopened.'

This was clearly to drum up extra interest and ensure a surge in purchases. However, in 1987 Hamilton put up more of these so-called 'limited edition' plates, which caused a customer to complain to the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.

Hamilton then explained that their 90-day firing period did not necessarily state that it would be 90 consecutive days, so they had done nothing wrong. However, they did offer to refund the customer the price of the plate and agree to use clearer terminology going forward to avoid any such confusion.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"