Language Creation Society files Amicus Brief in Paramount v. Axanar

[wm.annis]

This has some relevance to the Na'vi language. The amicus brief itself is entertaining, making good use of Klingon.

http://conlang.org/axanar/


April 28, 2016: Yesterday, the Language Creation Society filed an amicus brief (and exhibits) in Paramount v. Axanar, to oppose Paramount's claim of owning a copyright in the Klingon language.

Axanar is a planned feature film set within the Star Trek universe, following on the short film Prelude to Axanar. Paramount and CBS sued the film's producers, alleging that the fan film infringes on the studios' copyrights in Star Trek, such as the characters, settings, costumes, logos, and plot points — as well as an alleged copyright to the Klingon language itself. Klingon is a constructed language (conlang) created by linguist Marc Okrand for the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The mission of the Language Creation Society is to promote the art and craft of language creation.

We firmly believe that conlangers should receive credit for their work. Specific works describing a conlang, such as the Klingon Dictionary, Living Language Dothraki, or Ithkuil website are creative works in their own right, entitled to full legal protection. So are works that are in a conlang, such as Klingon Hamlet, Esperanto poetry, Ithkuil music, and Verdurian stories.

However, a constructed language itself is not protected, and should not be. Copyright law is simply too blunt a tool for this.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

It is my hope that this doesn't spill over and become a major impediment for something that is constructive, challenging, educational and creative...all so some lawyers and executives can make even more money.

Also, good to see you posting here, ma Wm Annis!

[wm.annis]

It is my hope that this doesn't spill over and become a major impediment for something that is constructive, challenging, educational and creative...all so some lawyers and executives can make even more money.

Oh, I agree. 

The brief generated a lot of press, including in legal circles, where in general people seemed to think language wasn't copyrightable. But the real work is nearly a year away at this point, so who knows where it will go.