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.