# Amazing Story-- Apple, Spielberg to screw the little guy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576 "2017-10-11T15:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/1 "2017-10-11T15:34:40Z")
It has been [making the rounds in the news](https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/10/16454312/apple-steven-spielberg-amazing-stories-original-content-deal) that Apple and Spielberg intend to restart the _Amazing Stories_ anthology series. The problem is, they don’t own the _Amazing Stories_ trademark. The trademark had belonged to Hasbro for some reason, and they let it lapse. A science fiction fan (and former fanzine writer) named Steve Davidson bought the trademark and has been working on restarting _Amazing Stories_ as a science fiction magazine again. But now, studios (first NBC, now apparently Apple) trying to restart an Amazing Stories TV series are trying to use the Amazing Stories name without Davidson’s approval and without adequately compensating for it (apparently because they think he is too small to matter.) [Here](https://www.tor.com/2011/10/24/amazing-stories-rising-from-the-ashes/) [are](http://www.sfscope.com/2011/09/amazing-stories-trademark-registration-granted/) articles from 2011 about the trademark acquisition. [Here](http://file770.com/?p=32354) is a more recent interview with Davidson on the subject. And [here](http://amazingstoriesmag.com/nbc-amazing-stories/) is a recent plea for help over NBC trying to screw him. ([The situation has not changed as of today](http://file770.com/?p=38209&cpage=1#comment-729388).) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/2 "2017-10-11T16:04:21Z")
That sucks. It reminds me of a story where a guy had to pay to license music he himself wrote to use in a YouTube video because a bigger company made a claim to it and he couldn’t win. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/3 "2017-10-11T16:42:14Z")
Thanks for sharing this. Crappy behavior on NBC and Apple’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/4 "2017-10-11T16:57:45Z")
[New statement from Steve Davidson](http://file770.com/?p=38227). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/5 "2017-10-11T17:08:20Z")
Interesting. Thanks for the news. The Times had an article about the revival today, but didn’t mention the trademark issue. TSR published the magazine in its end days. Wizards of the Coast bought them, and Hasbro bought Wizards of the Coast, which is how Hasbro got the trademark. It would be nice if the magazine got revived, and even nicer if it lasted longer than the revived Weird Tales. But given the sorry state of sf magazine circulation these days, not likely. Wonder what Ted White is doing? ETA: The link seems to imply that Amazing has been revived. Never showed up in Locus when I had a subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/6 "2017-10-11T17:13:57Z")
Surely someone could come up with a different title for the series Spielberg wants to do. If _Futurama_ weren’t a Fox show, they could use _The Scary Door_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mW5FEvY_Fic/hqdefault.jpg "Futurama The Scary Door") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW5FEvY_Fic) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/7 "2017-10-11T17:33:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > ETA: The link seems to imply that Amazing has been revived. Never showed up in Locus when I had a subscription. It is [on-line only](http://amazingstoriesmag.com/magazine/?issue=611) at the moment. Intentions to produce a print version have been hampered both by the general problems with print media today and with Davidson’s wife coming down with breast cancer, draining his attention. (She died earlier this year.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/8 "2017-10-11T17:48:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The problem is, they don’t own the _Amazing Stories_ trademark. The trademark had belonged to Hasbro for some reason, and they let it lapse. That reason being that Amazing had been bought by TSR (the company created to publish D&D), which was then bought by Wizards of the Coast (behind Magic the Gathering), which was then bought by Hasbro, to get MtG and D&D. I doubt Hasbro gave much thought to the non-game publishing part of WotC, aside from the D&D and MtG tie-ins. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/9 "2017-10-11T18:03:06Z")
Or is this just a nuisance lawsuit and the guy has no claims on the use of the name for TV? He might be trying to trick people into paying for a frivolous lawsuit to get Apple/NBC to settle. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/10 "2017-10-11T18:07:39Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Or is this just a nuisance lawsuit and the guy has no claims on the use of the name for TV? He might be trying to trick people into paying for a frivolous lawsuit to get Apple/NBC to settle. I was trying to figure out the same thing. From one of the linked articles in the OP _“By 2007, Hasbro had abandoned the trademark. Davidson, who was managing the intellectual property department of an R&D firm at the time, routinely reviewed the status of some favorite marks. Noting the lapse for Amazing Stories, he filed an application for the Mark in 2008. The trademark granted is for “fictional pieces, articles, interviews, illustrations, photographs, imagery, animation, digital video, digital audio and other information in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror in popular culture”, and is for both print and electronic publications.”_ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/11 "2017-10-11T18:14:31Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I doubt Hasbro gave much thought to the non-game publishing part of WotC, aside from the D&D and MtG tie-ins. And, in fact, within a few years of buying WotC, Hasbro decided that publishing magazines was _not_ part of their business model. They spun off Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine (both focused on D&D and other RPGs) into an independent company, Paizo Publishing, which published those two magazine titles under license to Hasbro. The Wikipedia entry on Paizo indicates that they also published Amazing Stories for a short time (2004-2005); my assumption would be that that, too, was under license to Hasbro, if it was Hasbro which wound up letting the trademark on the name lapse. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/12 "2017-10-11T19:06:48Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/13 "2017-10-11T19:07:17Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Or is this just a nuisance lawsuit and the guy has no claims on the use of the name for TV? He might be trying to trick people into paying for a frivolous lawsuit to get Apple/NBC to settle. No, Davidson definitely has the rights to the trademark. NBC even agreed to pay him for it – but never did, so the contract was void. Here’s [the detailed story.](http://file770.com/?p=37569) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/14 "2017-10-11T19:11:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No, Davidson definitely has the rights to the trademark. NBC even agreed to pay him for it – but never did, so the contract was void. > > Here’s [the detailed story.](http://file770.com/?p=37569) I’m not claiming it’s wrong, but note that the author of the story you linked is the guy who owns the trademark, hardly an unbiased source. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/15 "2017-10-11T19:18:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No, Davidson definitely has the rights to the trademark. NBC even agreed to pay him for it – but never did, so the contract was void. > > Here’s [the detailed story.](http://file770.com/?p=37569) Its not really a solid cite if written by the guy trying to get money for the trademark. I’m still highly suspiscious. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/16 "2017-10-11T22:20:01Z")
Well, here’s the [trademark database entry](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:6eypvh.2.1): > [@](#): > > AMAZING STORIES > Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing ongoing video programming featuring science fiction, fantasy and horror subjects, and non-fiction subjects related to science fiction, fantasy and horror presented through the media of television, cable television, satellite, streaming video, broadband networks, wireless networks and internet, delivered to electronic devices. FIRST USE: 20130224. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20130224 > > \ > Registration Date May 3, 2016 > Owner (REGISTRANT) Davidson Steven DBA the experimenter publishing company/amazing stories INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES PO Box 1068 hillsboro NEW HAMPSHIRE 03244 That’s cut and dried – he owns the trademark and has since 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/17 "2017-10-11T22:37:14Z")
[_The Concord Monitor_ picks up the story](http://www.concordmonitor.com/amazing-13050646). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/18 "2017-10-11T23:18:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [_The Concord Monitor_ picks up the story](http://www.concordmonitor.com/amazing-13050646). Glad to see the press coverage. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/19 "2017-10-12T14:03:43Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Well, here’s the [trademark database entry](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:6eypvh.2.1): > That’s cut and dried – he owns the trademark and has since 2016. Cut and Dried; but it looks less like a little guy fighting Goliath and more like a scam to me. He’s owned it for a less than 2 years, is trying to get others to help pay for his \*Trademark Troll \*shake down. Sorry, I guess I’m too much of a cynic to believe the Op is accurate in the portrayal of this fight. In the Op it mentions 2011 I believe? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576/20 "2017-10-12T14:10:23Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Cut and Dried; but it looks less like a little guy fighting Goliath and more like a scam to me. He’s owned it for a less than 2 years, is trying to get others to help pay for his \*Trademark Troll \*shake down. > > Sorry, I guess I’m too much of a cynic to believe the Op is accurate in the portrayal of this fight. > > In the Op it mentions 2011 I believe? A trademark troll generally isn’t using the trademark; Steve Davidson has been doing a lot with it [http://amazingstoriesmag.com/](http://amazingstoriesmag.com/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-story-apple-spielberg-to-screw-the-little-guy/798576.md?page=2)