Earlier this year, we brought you the story about writer Harlan Ellison’s lawsuit against Paramount Pictures. The suit alleged that Paramount failed to pay for merchandising, publishing and other exploitations of “The City on the Edge of Forever,” an episode he wrote for the original “Star Trek” episode, “City on the Edge of Forever.”
Ellison was suing for $1 plus his expenses.
Ellison’s suit accused CBS Paramount of failing to notify him about the “Crucible” trilogy of books based on the teleplay and merchandising that included a “talking” Christmas ornament.
Now comes word that a federal judge has ruled in Ellison’s favor.
“I am pleased with the outcome,” Ellison said on his web site. Ellison, who filed the suit in March in federal court in Los Angeles, also sued the Writers Guild of America for its alleged failure to act on his behalf but sought only $1 in damages plus attorneys fees and court costs from the guild. CBS Paramount and the WGA had no comment.
The suit accused CBS Par and the WGA of breaching the collective bargaining agreement and also accused the guild of breaching its duty of fair representation. The episode, which centered on time travel and starred Joan Collins, first aired in April 1967 and won the WGA teleplay award and a Hugo award.
I’m happy he won, and at the same time confused by the damages. I mean, if he’d sued for $20, there’d have been a jury involved. Oh. Right. Harlan… So, Congratulations!
Juries can be swayed by sympathetic plaintiffs, particularity if they have a likable personality. And when you have the personality of say, Harlan Ellison, well . . .
Anyway, this was a lawsuit that was filed to make a point and he made it. On the one hand, I think he should be commended to setting a precedent in support of future writers. But part of me also says: Come on! The show aired 42 years ago! Ellison has been grousing nonstop all this time about how he’d been shafted over it. Isn’t it time he moved on? I mean, what’s next? Dawn Wells sues CBS for publishing Maryann’s coconut cream pie recipe?
If I remember the story correctly, he was suing the Writer’s Guild of America for One Dollar for not backing him, and standing up for him and his contract. Mr. Ellison is suing CBS / Paramount for what chould be millions, if CBS / Paramount would ever give a figure on revenue earned from “City” , which they refuse to do. This article gives a little bit of better idea of the argument.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001255.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562
As far as D.C.’s argument goes, Yes, this is a 42 year old property, but according to the terms of his contract that Paramount agreed to when they hired him to write the episode, he is entitled to this money, they just refuse to pay him, even as they continue to milk his idea for additional amounts of money 42 years later.
Paramount is not ignorant to this, and now avoid it in most cases. Take T’Pol from Enterprise for example. She was originally going to be T’Pau from “Amok Time”, the TOS episode. When Paramount found out they would have to pay royalties to Theodore Sturgeon’s estate to reuse they character, they promptly did a rewrite.
It’s great that a 42 year old idea is still generating revenue, but Paramount should have to honor their contract.
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Ooooohhh!!!! Where do I illegally download THAT? 8-P