Viacom Responds To Activision Suit

Stagnate indeed
Source: Sci Fi Wire

Trek Blasts Activision

Viacom, which owns the rights to Star Trek, issued a public statement in response to a suit by game publisher Activision, calling the lawsuit a ploy to renegotiate a 10-year licensing agreement to produce Trek-themed games. Activision alleged that Viacom had allowed the Trek franchise to “stagnate and decay”; in response, Viacom said in a statement that “Activision’s allegations are without merit; indeed, Activision appears to be trying to use the courts in an effort to renegotiate a deal it made in 1998 to secure the rights to the valued Star Trek franchise for interactive games.”

Sources at Viacom’s Paramount Pictures also denied to SCI FI Wire a claim that Viacom told Activision it had no plans for further Trek feature films. “We have every intention of continuing the movie franchise,” the sources said.

Activision filed a breach-of-contract suit in the Superior Court of the State of California on June 30 and is seeking unspecified damages. “Activision cannot successfully develop and sell Star Trek video games without the product exploitation and support promised by Viacom,” the suit alleged. “A continuing pipeline of movie and television production and related marketing is absolutely crucial to the success of video games based on a property such as Star Trek.”

But in its own statement, Viacom said that it was “disappointed by Activision’s filing of a lawsuit yesterday in light of the fruitful collaboration the parties have enjoyed for the last nearly five years. During their collaboration, Activision has produced 14 Star Trek-themed products, including a tie-in to the release of the 10th Star Trek film, Nemesis, just last year.”

Viacom added that “Star Trek continues to enjoy widespread popularity and success throughout the world. Activision’s assertions and claims in its filing are manifestly unfounded, as one can learn by simply turning on a television set or walking into a book, game or video store.”