Tardigrades vs. Star Trek Discovery
Donation protected
Hi, I'm doing this campaign on behalf of Anas Abdin, and the following is his story & link to his profile:
https://www.gofundme.com/profile/anas-abdin-6k4aj
Introduction
My name is Anas Abdin. I am an independent game developer and a pixel artist. I sued both CBS and Netflix for copying major elements from a video game I'm developing called Tardigrades. The elements of my game are used in their Star Trek: Discovery show. It seems as an independent game developer I have no rights to protect my own original expression. If you are an independent creator, you can be next. Any large entity can steal your ideas and get away with it. Ideas are not protectable only the expression of these ideas deserve protection. The expression of my ideas are irrefutable in the art, video clips, and text produced by me.
Background
Back in May 2014 I started developing a space themed adventure game called Tardigrades. I've been working on it all by myself. I wrote the full story, created the characters, painted the background art, designed the spaceships, animated the cut scenes, composed the music, and of course wrote the code of the game.
On October 2017, I've been reached by friends and fans about a TV show with similar ideas from my project Tardigrades. That show was Star Trek: Discovery. I didn't know that there was a new Star Trek series because I wasn't into TV and movies due to my limited time between a full time job and care-giving to both my elderly parents back then all by myself.
I tried to contact the producers of the show, CBS, about the weird situation because I was too worried about my project and how may some people interpret the situation. CBS Legal vice president spoke with my lawyers and promised to get rid of the tardigrade creature from their show and they also promised not to sue me for copyright infringement. Yes, you read that right. They won't sue me even though I posted my project's updates years before their show. We were promised another call, but they kept postponing and ignoring until I reached a dead end and had to force my rights.
I filed the lawsuit on Aug 2018. I gave them almost a year to make things right but with no use. Independent creators and YouTubers started questioning about the situation. A few websites picked up the story. The general reception was very supportive to my side. CBS hired a prestigious law firm to fight me. They argued that I am trying to copyright the real-life tardigrade creature that lives on Earth even though I never claimed that. I gave these creatures a combination of properties and abilities that were never given to them before in any previous work. I made the tardigrades creatures in my project huge, blue and used in facilitating instantaneous space travel. The tardigrades were also the research subject of a blonde botanist named Carter, whom also encountered an interracial homosexual relation with a dark bearded male character named Aziz. This appeared on their show with Paul Stamets, who is a blonde astromycologist (mushroom botanist) and Dr. Hugh Culber. Both male characters are in an interracial homosexual relationship as well. The characters kept looking the same to those I created for Tardigrades. Michael Burnham looks exactly like Yolanda, and Sylvia Tilly is a direct copy of Natasha.
The show kept introducing copied characters, spaceships and other elements (story wise and even special effects) that stopped me immediately from enjoying the show. One would argue that this could be a publicity boost for my indie game, or even a compliment that a huge franchise is using my ideas.
Well, not me, not this way.
My project Tardigrades was intended to be commercialized and all its profit was going to be spent on relocating my little family to get a better treatment for my father's Parkinson's and my mother's knee replacement surgeries. My father also had early stages of dementia. I saw all my hopes and dreams fall apart in front of the whole world. Every time I saw my father's daily struggles, or my mother's pain, I would cry inside my head while keeping a smile on the outside for them. My father was bedridden for 8 years and one could imagine the types of caring such patients require. I lost my job which was in scientific researches due to budget cuts. And then the devastating life changing event happened. My father got hospitalized, several mistakes happened with his treatment until he finally lost his battle with Parkinson's last April (2019) and passed.
A major part of me went away with my father. With a broken heart, I still have to be strong for my mom. A few months ago (September 2019), as I returned from visiting my dad's grave, I received the news that the judge ruled against me and that the case was dismissed.
Appeal
I want to continue the fight. Every time we hear about a story of an independent creator being smashed by a major corporation because they think they can get away with it due to their massive resources against our limited ones. I want to keep fighting this ruling. I cannot do this all by myself. I have never asked anyone for financial help in my life. But I learned that the numbers required to continue fighting are ridiculously high. This is the reason why these large corporations feel confident that they can get away with the infringement of our intellectual properties.
My dear friend Gary Buechler -Nerdrotic, took time and effort to set up a campaign a couple of months ago and with all your help we managed to raise more than $21K in a few days. I used the funds for more legal consultations, press fees and other court fees.
I want to extend my consultations and welcome judge Randall Ray Rader to the defense team (former United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). He has shaped United States intellectual property laws for decades in his court. He already studied the case. His opinion had a great impact on me going further with the appeal.
The funds at this stage will be used for the following:
• Extended legal consultations ($3-5k/hour, estimated $25k per person)
• Press fees (estimated $5-7k)
• Promoting, Marketing and contacting News Agencies
• Attorneys fees
• Court Fees
• Administrative Fees
I appreciate every donation, the little ones before the bigger ones. And if you can't help this case financially, then I ask you to please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Those matter to me more than any materialistic property in this world. Your true and sincere positive feelings towards me for the last couple of years were the reason I stayed strong all this time.
https://www.gofundme.com/profile/anas-abdin-6k4aj
Introduction
My name is Anas Abdin. I am an independent game developer and a pixel artist. I sued both CBS and Netflix for copying major elements from a video game I'm developing called Tardigrades. The elements of my game are used in their Star Trek: Discovery show. It seems as an independent game developer I have no rights to protect my own original expression. If you are an independent creator, you can be next. Any large entity can steal your ideas and get away with it. Ideas are not protectable only the expression of these ideas deserve protection. The expression of my ideas are irrefutable in the art, video clips, and text produced by me.
Background
Back in May 2014 I started developing a space themed adventure game called Tardigrades. I've been working on it all by myself. I wrote the full story, created the characters, painted the background art, designed the spaceships, animated the cut scenes, composed the music, and of course wrote the code of the game.
On October 2017, I've been reached by friends and fans about a TV show with similar ideas from my project Tardigrades. That show was Star Trek: Discovery. I didn't know that there was a new Star Trek series because I wasn't into TV and movies due to my limited time between a full time job and care-giving to both my elderly parents back then all by myself.
I tried to contact the producers of the show, CBS, about the weird situation because I was too worried about my project and how may some people interpret the situation. CBS Legal vice president spoke with my lawyers and promised to get rid of the tardigrade creature from their show and they also promised not to sue me for copyright infringement. Yes, you read that right. They won't sue me even though I posted my project's updates years before their show. We were promised another call, but they kept postponing and ignoring until I reached a dead end and had to force my rights.
I filed the lawsuit on Aug 2018. I gave them almost a year to make things right but with no use. Independent creators and YouTubers started questioning about the situation. A few websites picked up the story. The general reception was very supportive to my side. CBS hired a prestigious law firm to fight me. They argued that I am trying to copyright the real-life tardigrade creature that lives on Earth even though I never claimed that. I gave these creatures a combination of properties and abilities that were never given to them before in any previous work. I made the tardigrades creatures in my project huge, blue and used in facilitating instantaneous space travel. The tardigrades were also the research subject of a blonde botanist named Carter, whom also encountered an interracial homosexual relation with a dark bearded male character named Aziz. This appeared on their show with Paul Stamets, who is a blonde astromycologist (mushroom botanist) and Dr. Hugh Culber. Both male characters are in an interracial homosexual relationship as well. The characters kept looking the same to those I created for Tardigrades. Michael Burnham looks exactly like Yolanda, and Sylvia Tilly is a direct copy of Natasha.
The show kept introducing copied characters, spaceships and other elements (story wise and even special effects) that stopped me immediately from enjoying the show. One would argue that this could be a publicity boost for my indie game, or even a compliment that a huge franchise is using my ideas.
Well, not me, not this way.
My project Tardigrades was intended to be commercialized and all its profit was going to be spent on relocating my little family to get a better treatment for my father's Parkinson's and my mother's knee replacement surgeries. My father also had early stages of dementia. I saw all my hopes and dreams fall apart in front of the whole world. Every time I saw my father's daily struggles, or my mother's pain, I would cry inside my head while keeping a smile on the outside for them. My father was bedridden for 8 years and one could imagine the types of caring such patients require. I lost my job which was in scientific researches due to budget cuts. And then the devastating life changing event happened. My father got hospitalized, several mistakes happened with his treatment until he finally lost his battle with Parkinson's last April (2019) and passed.
A major part of me went away with my father. With a broken heart, I still have to be strong for my mom. A few months ago (September 2019), as I returned from visiting my dad's grave, I received the news that the judge ruled against me and that the case was dismissed.
Appeal
I want to continue the fight. Every time we hear about a story of an independent creator being smashed by a major corporation because they think they can get away with it due to their massive resources against our limited ones. I want to keep fighting this ruling. I cannot do this all by myself. I have never asked anyone for financial help in my life. But I learned that the numbers required to continue fighting are ridiculously high. This is the reason why these large corporations feel confident that they can get away with the infringement of our intellectual properties.
My dear friend Gary Buechler -Nerdrotic, took time and effort to set up a campaign a couple of months ago and with all your help we managed to raise more than $21K in a few days. I used the funds for more legal consultations, press fees and other court fees.
I want to extend my consultations and welcome judge Randall Ray Rader to the defense team (former United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). He has shaped United States intellectual property laws for decades in his court. He already studied the case. His opinion had a great impact on me going further with the appeal.
The funds at this stage will be used for the following:
• Extended legal consultations ($3-5k/hour, estimated $25k per person)
• Press fees (estimated $5-7k)
• Promoting, Marketing and contacting News Agencies
• Attorneys fees
• Court Fees
• Administrative Fees
I appreciate every donation, the little ones before the bigger ones. And if you can't help this case financially, then I ask you to please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Those matter to me more than any materialistic property in this world. Your true and sincere positive feelings towards me for the last couple of years were the reason I stayed strong all this time.
Organizer
Amir Abdin
Organizer
Austin, TX