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So there's a new Star Trek movie coming out. There's a teaser trailer for it that actually impressed me.
Considering that this new movie is a huge-budget re-envisioning of the franchise set before the first episode of the original series, it got me thinking: One of the more interesting underreported battles in the history of Trek is the one in the late 80s and early 90s between Eileen Roddenberry, Gene's first wife, and Majel Roddenberry, his second wife and the executor of his estate, over whether the 1969 divorce settlement between the original Roddenberrys gave Eileen royalties over future Star Trek projects, or just royalities from profits derived from the original 1966-1969 series. The trial court found that Eileen should get royalties from The Next Generation and Deep Space 9, but not from The Animated Series, the movies, or any Trek merchandising. This was because, the court said, The Next Generation and DS9 were "continuations" of the original TV show. The appellate court, in an oft-cited opinion, determined that Eileen Roddenberry was entitled to royalties from the original TV show only, because the divorce settlement did not contemplate the future projects. (These royalties had amounted to, at the time, "only" $13.8 million.) Here's the court opinion, which amusingly dissects the Trek franchise, and also reveals that Shatner has a small piece of royalities in the original show.
So, if I were an enterprising California lawyer, I'd be wondering whether Eileen Roddenberry or her estate would be entitled to a piece of the new movie, considering that it is essentially a remake of the 60s show using the original characters. Under this opinion, the answer is probably no.
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