Star Trek legend and singing sensation William Shatner was stirred into legal motion when his lawyers heard that Shatter was offering a downloadable level that used his likeness and included a remix of his “Mr. Tambourine Man” cover. This content caused Shatner’s legal team to send a cease & desist letter to developer Sidhe. The only problem was the fact that no such level exists, and it was just a joke that Sidhe had nothing to do with.
Sidhe managing director Mario Wynands responded to Shatner’s lawyers, laying the verbal smackdown on their C&D attempt:
The GameConsole ‘report’ you reference is what is commonly referred to on the internet as a ‘joke’. The article is a parody of our game, and has no basis in reality in that it does not in any way reflect our intentions for further development of the Shatter IP or relate to any official statement we have made relating to the game.
We have the upmost respect for Mr William Shatner and the licensing process, and if we had any intent of using rights related to either Mr Shatner, Star Trek, or Tambourine Man (which we do not) we would do so using the appropriate channels.
Please respond acknowledging your receipt and understanding of this message, and confirming you have notified both Paramount and Bob Dylan’s representatives of your misunderstanding.
Ah, lawyers and their overzealous desperation to protect anything and everything under the Sun. Always nice when their eager little hands get righteously smacked with a hot teaspoon.
