Yep, I reckon it's all in the eye of the beholder. Who may or may not be an expert and/or have a law degree. I haven't read Dune but I vaguely remember an article or two theorizing G.L. had been ::ahem:: inspired by it. Must go hunt down a copy and see for myself, desert planets have been around since the original Star Trek, maybe even longer. Ewoks, on the other hand, would seem to be an even clearer case of ::cough:: coincidental similarity. There's even a thread somewhere around here with pictures and danged if those two sets of furries don't look like long-lost kin.