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Star Trek/Axanar Lawsuit Isn't Going Away Just Yet (gizmodo.com)
New submitter monkeyman.kix quotes a report from Gizmodo: Even though it sounded like we may be getting close to ending the battle between the fan film Axanar and the studios that own Star Trek, the latest court action hints that it's just starting. Last month at a Star Trek fan event, J.J. Abrams indicated that they believed that CBS and Paramount's lawsuit against the fan film Axanar would be settled. At the time, he said that Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin was "outraged by this as a longtime fan" and that they both realized "this was not an appropriate way to deal with the fans." Except that the legal proceedings haven't stopped yet. The parties were back in court today, with CBS and Paramount (the plaintiffs) taking center stage. The state of the case is this: Paramount and CBS sued Axanar Productions for copyright infringement in late 2015. The judge rejected the defendant's motion to dismiss the case, finding that the studios had sufficient cause and provided enough notice to the fan film to proceed. He also dismissed a separate brief, refusing to decide on whether Klingon as a language was copyrightable. The Hollywood Reporter writes: "Now, instead of asking for an extension, Paramount and CBS have filed their own answer to the counterclaim admitting public statements, saying such items speak for themselves, but otherwise acting as though the lawsuit is moving forward. The plaintiffs, for example, deny that the works in controversy represent a fair use of their copyrights. "
The solution is, of course, to boycott star trek. Of course, you dorks are so addicted to the show that you're incapable of pulling yourselves away from it.
I threw my money at Axanar after seeing the first Beyond trailer. Then they dismissed the lawsuit and released a second trailer which seemed much less shitty, so I thought I'd give them a break and go watch it.
But if they want to sue the fan Star Trek productions then I guess I'll go back to not seeing Beyond. I was only going to see it on the fool's hope that it won't be utter shit like Into Darkness was, so I guess I won't be losing much.
"I write this in the hope that it will someday be read by Human eyes. I can only surmise at this point, but apparently our exploratory shuttle was contaminated by an alien life form which infected and killed all personnel except myself. I awakened to find myself here in the Royale Hotel, precisely as described in the novel I found in my room. And for the last thirty-eight years I have survived here. I have come to understand that the alien contaminators created this place for me out of some sense of guilt, presuming that the novel we had on board the shuttle about the Hotel Royale was in fact a guide to our preferred lifestyle and social habits. Obviously, they thought this was the world from which I came. I hold no malice toward my benefactors. They could not possibly know the hell they have put me through... for it was such a badly written book, filled with endless cliché and shallow characters... that I shall welcome death when it comes."
- Riker, reading Col. Richey's sole diary entry
I called it. What do you have to say now J.J. Abrams?
What's sad is the fans have passion and tell better stories and understand the source material better that the studio's hired hacks. Look what a farce the rebooted Star Trek has become. Every reboot really.
Funny story: Once a puritan attorney-general decided to shut down the porno movie industry by prosecuting the actresses for prostitution and financers as pimps. He took a test case to court, but the judiciary bukakked all over his face with a finding that made clear the porno movie industry was legal.
It would be funny if Paramount tried to fuck this fan over in court and ended up legitimizing fan films.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... http://www.slate.com/articles/... https://www.hg.org/article.asp... http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/08...
The copyright only restricts redistribution of derivative works, not just works with some common elements like pointy ears and character references, and even setting references. So for this lawsuit to proceed, plaintiffs would have to identify which exact work is Axanar derived work of, that is adaptation(for example, a movie based on a novel) or translation or some other similar transformation. Naming Star Trek in general is insufficient because it's not a work but a group of works. Fair use is a moot point here, because there is no claim in the first place against which fair use defense would be needed. Given that judge has let the case proceed does it mean he's using some other definition of copyright? Why it wasn't enshrined in law? People can't be expected to comply with unwritten laws which they don't even know to exist.
Somehow I doubt that corporations are going to go for a reasonable good-will arrangement when it comes to IP.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
However lobbyists pay for it to work.
That has essentially been true since time immemorial (It used to be kings/the court deciding it arbitrarily, but now it is lobbyists in whatever faux 'democratic process' the oligarchy presents to the people too stupid to understand it.) The major difference between the past and today is the ease with which it can be copied, and the collective make-believe that it is worth what they claim it is while also being worth a lifetime (or longer) period of monopolization, even upon transfer to an immortal entity (a corporation.)
On the bright side, between Kim Jong-un's death, and Putin's recent claim that the US is the only superpower in the world, maybe we're ramping up to see WW3 with either the US cast as Nazi Germany, or the trifecta of North Korea, China, and Russia cast as the Neo-Axis powers. Maybe this placid sickness we have fallen into will be shaken off with a return to a physical conflict people can't avert their eyes from (unlike middle east/african situations most of which have been averted from the 'first worlds' public eye.)
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=44634
"The Truth About Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes
A pervasive urban legend says that Star Trek: TNG wrongly believed that Sherlock Holmes was already in the public domain when the show made its second-season episode, "Elementary, My Dear Data." And then, once Paramount/Viacom realized its mistake, the story goes, the show reached a settlement with the Conan Doyle estate and paid handsomely to reuse Holmes villain Professor Moriarty in a followup episode." ....
"After three years, it turned out that the perceived taboo in doing more Sherlock Holmes stories... had all been a mistake! "Apparently the Arthur Conan Doyle estate was irritated with Paramount because of the movie Young Sherlock Holmes and they said no, more, ever," [Jeri]Taylor said. "Well, as in many walks of life it was never say never again; to my amazement they were willing to give us the characters for a very reasonable licensing fee.." "
Unlike authors, corporations live forever. They don't give a flying crap in the accounting department how many old fans get pissed off, because fans die. Revenue streams are forever. All they have to do is sit on a trademark (brand name) or copyright (of which Star Trek is both) until things die down. They'll give placebos to the fans a little, but honestly Axanar isn't well-known enough yet to hurt them over the long haul.
They'll just outlive any displeasure.
My biggest argument against all of this is that Axanar is a completely new story in a fictional universe that they bought the IP rights to. It's a social idea hook. It's LONG past the original 35 year copyright span.
The point of that original span was to be the lifetime of the exclusive ownership of a body of work for a reasonable time as defined by the following criteria:
1.) The lifetime of an author to enjoy the rights to his labor without theft.
2.) A reasonable compromise between cultural saturation and ownership. Over that amount of time it is unreasonable for any owner to expect any popular work to remain under their sole control due to the nature of human society.
Star Trek is now a cultural meme. It is a consistent fictional universe with a life of it's own. Attempting to extend ownership of an idea in perpetuity is a lucrative corporate wet dream, but it flies in the face of the way human society works. We evolve based on our shared dreams, desires and cultural ideas. Parents have now introduced TWO GENERATIONS to Star Trek without marketing based on an old ideal created by a now-dead author. Most graduates from high school have watched NONE, NOT ONE of the series of STTOS, STTNG, DS9, Voyager and even Enterprise has only been watched by a few. Ask them.
IP isn't just about the works anymore, it's about language and meme... owning the memories and cultural identities of huge segments of the population... for profit.
Nothing good comes from this.
If this holds up, then William Gibson should have a right to sue Microsoft for trademark infringement, as well as the Wachowskis. After all, their cultural memes came from Neuromancer.
My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so
Here you go!
In July 2012, Lien (Kes) was arrested for an alleged domestic assault.[15] In April 2015, Lien was arrested and charged with evading arrest, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault in relation to a speeding offense.[16] In September 2015, Lien was arrested for two counts of misdemeanor exposure in relation to an argument with a neighbor.[17][18] In February 2016, Lien paid restitution for a police cruiser damaged in the April 2015 incident, and the state agreed to a six month deferral of the 2015 charges so she can continue to receive mental health treatment.[19] In March 2016, Lien was charged with DUI.[20]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
And the actors were never in the same room as each other, interacting with each other.... It was interesting, but not so much entertaining to me. I'm glad it receives such a huge following and support though, clearly it is very important and beloved, so congrats to those who worked on it and appreciate it.
> "this may somehow hurt our profits or hurt our 'brand' (which will hurt our profits), therefore it must not be allowed".
You figure they don't want something to hurt the brand, and I think you're right. If they get a bunch of letters from fans (customers) telling them that the law suit is hurting their brand ...
The movie is explicitly a STAR TREK fan film. Not a "low budget sci-fi flik". If it's a STAR TREK film, that's called a derivative work. Same characters (both individuals and groups like Klingons and Star Fleet), extending the Star Trek plot lines forward or backward in time, etc.
You ask "which Star Trek work". Several, actually, each an separate violation of copyright law. Their use of Kilngons is derived from each and every time Star Trek used Klingons.
'Not an appropriate way to deal with the fans' is about as gross an understatement of the situation as can be, so far as I'm concerned. I was already as unimpressed by the current crop of 'Star Trek-flavored' movies they've been putting out, but then there's this bullshit? Screw them. At this rate, I wouldn't even be bothered to pirate their damned movies, or their shitty web-only series. Even the producer and the director want Paramount and CBS to stop this nonsense and allow Axanar to be produced. Are they so threatened by a fan-produced-and-funded project, that they have to try to smash it? Perhaps so, I think.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
https://www.change.org/p/cbs-s...
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Not until they are facing losing said IP.
No corporation has ever given anything except at gunpoint.
Think about all the open source that is released by good-willed corporations. Even IP is given away Tesla's "All our patent are belong to you". [1]
There are corporations who believe in the commons. Even Apple, who legislates on design patents contributes to open source.
That said, the gist of what you said is true, and the only fix is to demolish the "corporations are people" legal construct (mostly because it's bullshit - corporations live forever and have no morals by default - it's simply legally convenient).
Fight against our corporate overlords!
[1] https://www.teslamotors.com/bl...
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
IT'S BECAUSE THEY JUST SEE A REDUCTION IN POPULARITY AND DON'T KNOW WHY!!!
So basically all that data that's being collected via Facebook, Twitter, Google trends, doubleclick/Google, location data, non-cash spending, etc etc etc can't tell anybody anything and we've still got knee jerk conclusions to everything? Good show.
Twinstiq, game news
Face it Paramount, you put your best & brightest against fan-made films & the fan-made films won.
Nobody wants to see your awful JJ Trek, we're sick to death of pod racing & Space GI Joes being chased down a corridor by an explosion.
We want to watch SCIENCE fiction, not lame action movies. Fan films provide that, you dont.
Please make sure Abrams is with you when you go die in a fire.
Make sure that you add plenty of funny shit to Axanar and call it a parody, at which point they can't do shit because parody is specifically protected against this kind of crap, so unless you are straight up copying line for line an episode of Star Trek, the lawyers will have to pound sand.
I really want to understand...
The way most people (including me) seems to understand the fan-film 'arrangement' for Trek and Wars.....
If they can do a fan-film and pay the vendors to provide costumes, props, and caterers, etc... It's allegedly fine, as the producers are not technically making a profit from using Star Trek properties. (The same appears to be true with Lucasfilm/Star Wars, but apparently it's laid out more specifically in writing?)
It even seems like it's even better (safer, legally) for the producers/creators if there's a LOSS on the whole endeavor.
A friend of mine is a guild-member script writer who knows more than me about these things.... What I was told was that a new production studio had been built with some of the indiefundmekickstarter money that was raised.
So... A real, tangible, standing structure... asset. That will be used to create other things in the future. Yes, including more Trek stuff, probably... But a substantial, real thing that could easily be converted to cash?
I really want to understand why/if this is right or wrong, factually, and if it's something that makes a difference to people that have the "It's OK, as long as they don't make profit" mindset?
I asked this question, and was basically banned from their facebook page for asking. (I think they turned off permission for me to post in the comments)
Disclaimer: I LOVE Prelude to Axanar. I honestly think it should have been licensed, shown in theaters as an add-on "short" to some other Paramount property as a one-time thing, offered on iTunes for $5, and shown with ST Beyond in the theaters.
A couple of Trekkie friends of mine got together a little while back, and we all watched Star Trek: Rebels as the "main event" that night. I said that was ok... but check THIS out! Axanar won the night, hands-down.
I think I'm going to hate Beyond, and would gladly trade the new movie franchise for Axanar-like material on a one-for-one basis, regardless of length.
I had a sucky sig.
It's pretty clear that fan-films are okay as long as they are crap. Once you raise enough $$$ to produce something good CBS/Paramount will rob you ...