Roddenberry v. Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry (defendant) created Star Trek while married to Eileen (plaintiff); their 1969 divorce settlement gave Gene all rights to Star Trek except Eileen's one-half interest in future profit-participation income. Gene later developed several successful Star Trek movies, television series, and an animated series. Eileen sued, claiming half of all income from every subsequent project. The trial court ruled the movies and animated series fell outside the settlement but that two other television series were mere continuations of the original show, entitling Eileen to half their profits. Gene appealed.