Canon Canon is a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works . The " Star Trek " canon is generally defined as all released television series and feature films . The various " official " references ( such as the or the ) may be used as a guide to canon information , but are not canon in and of themselves . The definition of " Star Trek " canon may vary for different fans , and therefore for a reference source like , the question may become especially difficult . The term fanon is used to refer to " fan canon " , of which the term is a . It applies to certain " facts " that may have been accepted as a truth by a large number of fans , and thus either replaces an established canonical fact in the minds of those fans , becoming retroactive continuity , or fills a plot - hole . The history of defining canon . As " Star Trek " grew in both size and popularity in the 1980s , fan s considered how to treat the ever - growing collection of episodes , films , novels , comics , reference works , and more . In , Paramount Pictures removed ( aired – ) from canon . However , the definition of " Star Trek " canon as encompassing all released TV series and films has been generally accepted since TAS was first released on DVD ; the studio officially changed its removal of TAS from canon by listing the animated series as a part of established canon in its database at StarTrek . com . In , CBS Consumer Products ' Senior Director of Product Development Paula Block was asked about the topic of " Star Trek " canon for IDW Publishing ' s " Focus on . . . Star Trek " issue : " Canon ' in the sense that I use it is a very important tool . It only gets muddled when people try to incorporate licensed products into ' canon ' – and I know a lot of the fans really like to do that . Sorry , guys – not trying to rain on your parade . There ' s a lot of bickering about it among fans , but in its purest sense , it ' s really pretty simple : Canon is " Star Trek " continuity as presented on TV and Movie screens . Licensed products like books and comics aren ' t part of that continuity , so they aren ’ t canon . And that ' s that . Part of my job in licensing is to keep track of TV and Movie continuity , so I can help direct licensees in their creation of licensed products . It gets a little tricky because it ' s constantly evolving , and over the years , " Star Trek " s various producers and scriptwriters haven ' t always kept track of / remembered / cared about what ' s come before . " In 2012 , executive producer , writer , and creative consultant Roberto Orci was asked by Trekmovie . com about canon regarding the then - upcoming " Star Trek " videogame as well as the tie - in comic books for which he had served as creative consultant and co - writer . TrekMovie . com : When I was at E3 I spoke to a VP from Paramount who said the upcoming " Star Trek " movie game is canon from their perspective . So will you guys just wave the canon wand over the game , comic books and upcoming comic books that you are involved with ? Roberto Orci : Well I always say that I arrived in " Star Trek " where the rules of what is canon had already been established . TrekMovie . com : Yes , but some of the exceptions were that extended universe things done by creators of filmed canon were also canon . My argument also is that in previous times there was a plethora of filmed material to fill out the canon of the prime universe . So the extended universe stuff was a little bit extra on the side . [ . . . The ] difference with previous " Trek " is that you guys are overseeing all of this . These rules aren ' t written in stone from my perspective and I think a lot of fans would like to hear you say , " yes these are all the adventures of Kirk , Spock and the gang and it is all canon and all ties together into a single universe . " Again , with the caveat that you reserve the right to contradict any of it in a future movie and that would trump . That ' s my pitch to you . Roberto Orci : OK , based on that then with you Anthony Pascale as a witness , I hereby declare anything that we oversee to be canon . This implies that the comics for which Roberto Orci had served as creative consultant were considered canon ( such as " " ) as well as the . However , Orci later noted : " " [ I ] said and have said exactly what you just said [ that canon is limited to on - screen material ] forever , but Pascale [ TrekMovie . com editor ] pushed me , he won ' t give up ! [ I ] have said a million times that we can ' t determine what is canon . [ On ] this day , [ I ] said something else . ' consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds . " " , and later disputed the canonicity of the game . Non - canon . Licensed . A large body of licensed " Star Trek " works exists that , while approved for publication by Paramount , are not considered part of " Star Trek " canon . This includes most of the novels , comics , games , and older reference books such as the " Star Fleet Technical Manual " . It is in this regard that Memory Alpha allows the term " " as a heading for an appendices section to separate , truncated only , information derived from these works from both the in - universe sections as well as the valid production background information sections , and which includes the above - mentioned " fanon " . Note that , over the years , background information from non - canon works has worked its way into canon " Star Trek " . These include the first names of Hikaru Sulu and Nyota Uhura , for example . Remastered " Star Trek " also added further examples , such as the design of the non - canon 23rd century Starbase 47 being used for Starbase 6 , and the registries derived from Greg Jein ' s article " The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship " written as a fan . Unlicensed . There is a large body of non - canon unlicensed work produced by amateur filmmakers . CBS Studios supports and encourages the creation of fan fiction and released a set of guidelines to avoid the licenser ' s objection against fan produced " Star Trek " films . The recent growth of episodes and films produced by former " Star Trek " cast and crew has garnered much greater attention than traditional fan fiction . The projects that fall into this group include : It is these projects , in particular , that have come under intense scrutiny from CBS with its new rules as the producers of both " Axanar " and " Renegades " experienced to their detriment in 2015 and 2016 respectvely . The participation of former " Star Trek " staff and the increasing production value sophistication of these projects notwithstanding , Memory Alpha consider these productions as fan - produced , therefore remaining outside the purview of this wiki .