CBS forces developer to pull DiagnosticPADD app

Is there nobody at CBS with ties to the Star Trek franchise who could hook up with Mike Okuda and some quality iOS developer and get the real deal going? I mean, c'mon!

The interface elements may be Star Trek-kish but what they use in the series isn't a real world working app -- the screens are static graphics.

"You can't copyright the idea of pastel colours in rectangles with curves etc."

Actually, you can. It's called "trade dress," and it was the grounds for Apple successfully suing a number of companies that brought transparent blue all-in-one computers to market in the wake of the iMac's success.

Let's be charitable and say that Park Bench Software was naive (extremely!) in thinking that they could blatantly copy "look and feel" that belong to a major Hollywood studio. You can argue about whether Paramount would have been smart to just buy the app--that's a business decision. But there's no argument about the fact that they are entirely within their legal and ethical rights to object to someone else making money with their intellectual property. Try selling unlicensed tricorder mockups, and you'll quickly find out that's not a workable business plan.

Writer Kelly Hodgkins was way off base in casting this as a "David vs. Goliath" story. It isn't. Rather, it's the story of someone who was foolish enough to think he could get away with copying somebody else's work and selling it.

I just supported Park Bench Software.

Katie Couric really needs to report about this critical issue on the CBS Evening News tonight!

There are currently 19 Apps that use LCARS. Looks like CBS is going after another developer by the name Dei Machiavelli as well. Just search for LCARS in the App store.

I definitely think CBS is within their legal rights, but far outside of the bounds of what makes good business sense. A miniscule developer pays homage to your trademarked content, the smart move is to buy him out and market the hell out of it.

Instead, they lose a lot of fan goodwill by further dragging the Star Trek franchise through the mud. Unless they have plans to release an LCARs app (I mean solid plans, not 'oh yeah at some point maybe we'll think about making an iOS application or something...') then why crush this? It's the kneejerk reaction that everyone is so appalled by, I think, not the copyright protection.

I think a lot of these properties are just like real property... Execcutives hang on to fallow land while the world sails buy hoping it will be "big money" someday.

LCARS and PADD used to be a sci-fi fantasy. It's only taken 25 years, but somebody could skin an entire iPad like LCARS and have it act just like on TV. At one point there was a design patent for how LCARS worked.. But that would have expired. The copyright claim is stretching as it is trivial to redraw...copying a style is not infringing.. An I don't believe his app directly copies any one device from TV. The trademark "PADD" is probably valid complaint... I'd like to see them fight Jobs for "pad" rights!!!

The app is eye candy... Just to show LCARS can actually be done now! All the suits have in mind is cashing in on it!!

Apple v. Microsoft — I think we all remember who won that. User interface copyrights can not be enforced, sorry CBS. PADD, on the other hand, can.

I understand why CBS did this - it's definitely a copyright issue, but it would seem smarter to offer a path to legitimacy rather than rabidly defending their turf... This type of behavior causes potential grassroots fan-based development to drop-off, and they miss huge potential revenue streams, not to mention additional opportunities to strengthen their fanbase. Shortsighted business always pisses me off.

I can see the use of the PADD term to be a problem, but not the use of the LCARS interface, so long as it's not called LCARS in the app.

You can't copyright the idea of pastel colours in rectangles with curves etc. They've have a better argument with the copyright of the font that was used if he didn't purchase a license for that.

The Dev should change the name and re-release.