Activision, Viacom Settle Star Trek License Lawsuit

One of the more unusual lawsuits in recent game history has come to an apparently amicable end, with Activision and licensor Viacom jointly announcing that they have reached an agreement regarding the future of the Star Trek video game license. Activision first filed its lawsuit in July 2003, arguing that Viacom had let the Star Trek franchise 'stagnate', essentially arguing that the fall in quality of the Star Trek series and movies had lessened the value of the license and the marketability of any video games derived from them. As a result of the settlement, all pending lawsuits filed by each party in the Superior Court in Los Angeles regarding the matter have been dismissed. Neither company has been willing to divulge further details, and insist that they will be working together on future projects. The company sought damages for lost revenue for games already shipped, as well as lost future revenue. At the time, Activision also sought to terminate its five year old licensing agreement, but today’s announcement implies that the agreement will now continue uninterrupted until its end in 2009. However, it is unclear if this agreement includes the rights to publish the recently announced Star Trek MMO title from Perpetual Entertainment, licensed while the parties were still in court. In the mean time, with the current 'Enterprise' TV series having recently been cancelled, and a new movie not expected until at least 2007, big media events centered around Star Trek may be somewhat sparse.