10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Trek History

5. DirectTV Goes To Court

This famous ad from 2006 parodied Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In it, William Shatner reprises the role of Captain Kirk, poking fun at the older movie. Chekov asks the captain if they should raise their shields, to which he replies 'again with the shields?'

The ad was designed to boost sales for DirecTV. However, Time Warner took issue with the statement that the other company was advertising that their quality was superior to all other forms of television. They took DirecTV to Court.

Time Warner's argument was that the ad was a case of false advertising. The District Court ruled in their favour, stating that it was a case of literal falsity. DirecTV was claiming that its picture quality was superior to what was commercially available, which was not the case at all. The case adopted the 'false by necessary implication' doctrine, which the Second Circuit affirmed.

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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"