Summary: I. Happy New Year! Ring in 2012 with Law of the Geek! II. Today we'll be talking about the "out of this world" Cowboys and Aliens lawsuit, and then we have more Listener Mail! III. Cowboys and Aliens v. Cowboys and Aliens v. Cowboys and Aliens. Really? A. We play movie reviewers for a few minutes. B. Busti v. Platinum Studios, Inc. et al. 11-cv-01029. C. More rampant speculation, as always! Oh, and Melina has a signed copy of the original comic! D. Judge Sam Sparks - Judge by day, Superhero by night? E. A little about the Plaintiff and Defendants. F. The original 1995 comic versus the 2006 graphic novel and the 2011 movie. G. Let's go on a journey through time together! The factual timeline. We may need the help of the TARDIS. H. Melina is super jealous that Geoff has been to Comic-Con and she hasn't. I. The legal stuff. 1. Why copying the title "Cowboys and Aliens" doesn't cut it. 2. Idea versus Expression: Can aliens set in the wild west ever be protectable? 3. Substantial Similarities: Parsing out the similarities and differences. J. Looking into the Crystal Ball: How might this suit play out? IV. Listener Mail Segment! Who will the lucky listener be? A. @williampall wants to know some specifics about MTV Networks v. White Wolf, Inc., et al. 1:97-cv-07947. Great Question! B. A little about Aeon Flux, the animated series, from Melina. C. A little about Trinity (formerly Aeon), the RPG, from Geoff. D. How the suit ended quickly. E. How the differences in the media types (animated series v. RPG) could have played into the analysis. V. Good luck with those New Year's Resolutions! We're excited about ours: Geoff is waiting to discover he's the last son of Krypton and Melina is waiting for her August brown recluse bite powers to manifest. VI. We'll back in 2 weeks!
