Star Trek and Dr. Seuss mashup Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go! goes nowhere after Supreme Court rejects appeal

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss and Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go! not by Dr. Seuss

JUNE 24, 2021 - This week, Reuters reported that Star Trek writer David Gerrold’s book Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go! will not be boldly going to the United States Supreme Court. The highest court in the land has rejected an appeal to the 2020 decision of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the Trek-themed Dr. Seuss mash-up.

In December of 2020, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2019 ruling which had previously declared Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go! fell under the terms of fair use. Dr. Seuss Enterprises appealed the ruling. A judicial summary of more than 40 pages detailed the court’s opinion. The panel of judges ruled the book was not “transformative”, did not qualify as fair use, and infringed on the copyright of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Comic Mix LLC, one of the book’s publishers, appealed the appeal, to no avail. The U.S. Supreme Court will not review the case, and it looks like Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go! isn’t going anywhere.

To read Reuters’ full report on the court’s decision, and to review the details of the 2020 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, visit reuters.com.