Enlarge / Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1959. He’s holding a plant-sprouting corncob pipe as he stands in front of his 1940 sculpture of the Blue-Green Abelard hanging on the wall at his home. (credit: John Bryson/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
Connecticut-based ComicMix has been sued for trying to sell a book called Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go!, which was proposed on Kickstarter as a “mash-up” of Dr. Seuss and Star Trek. The lawsuit raises the question of what kind of “fan fiction” may be legally allowed in a world that’s embracing “remix” culture.
The plaintiff in the case is Dr. Seuss Enterprises, or DSE, which owns the copyrights and trademarks related to Theodor Geisel, the author and illustrator who wrote children’s books under the Dr. Seuss pseudonym, including one called Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
ComicMix and the project’s creators, Glenn Hauman, David Friedman, and Ty Templeton, raised tens of thousands of dollars on Kickstarter before they were hit with an intellectual property complaint from DSE. At that point, the Kickstarter page was taken down. The lawsuit was filed on Friday and reported yesterday by The Hollywood Reporter.
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Source: Ars Technica – Dr. Seuss estate sues over Star Trek “mashup” book