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The dispute between CBS, Paramount and the creators of the Axanar “fan film” will be resolved with a jury trial.

The jury will decide if the disputed 20 minute “Prelude” and the proposed feature film “would be seen by lay people as substantially similar to older Star Trek films and TV shows”, according to a comprehensive report at The Hollywood Reporter.

The full court ruling can be read here but in essence, CBS and Paramount have won on nearly every ground, with Axanar’s various defences being struck down – “the Court finds that the Axanar Works have objective substantial similarity to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works . . . Under the extrinsic test, the Axanar Works are substantially similar to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works. . . . This conclusion finds strong support in Defendants’ intent for the Axanar Works. ‘Defendants expressly set out to create an authentic and independent Star Trek film that [stayed] true to Star Trek canon down to excruciating details.'”