CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films - Page 6

Admiral Buzzkill · November 21 2012, 07:04 AM

andriech wrote:

(and as for Farragut, I haven't mentioned them in ANY of my posts in years...if ever.)

Hmm.

andriech wrote:

CBS legal is well aware of "Titan"...just as they are aware of Farragut's "donate" button on their website, Farragut's partnership with apparent "investment" individuals (which implies a profit to share)...

batboy853 · November 21 2012, 10:36 AM

I honestly think this thread and the Titan thread need to be locked down, nothing good has been coming from them lately just people causing bad blood between each other.

GSchnitzer · November 21 2012, 02:54 PM

People need to not engage in mudslinging so much and need to stop sowing discontent. I'm watching this thread carefully....

Maurice · November 22 2012, 01:42 AM

I don't get the finger-pointing here. The subject is what CBS does and doesn't tolerate re fan productions, and all of the information presented thus far could have been done so much more cleanly. One merely needs to say "you can't do this", and not add the pointless "like film X does."

Potemkin_Prod · November 22 2012, 03:03 AM

Exactly.

Linnear · November 22 2012, 04:18 AM

Maurice wrote:

I don't get the finger-pointing here. The subject is what CBS does and doesn't tolerate re fan productions, and all of the information presented thus far could have been done so much more cleanly. One merely needs to say "you can't do this", and not add the pointless "like film X does."

Agreed. But I do think specific examples are relevant in how and why CBS enforces rules. It is one thing to say you can't do X, but is some production does do X and CBS does nothing, then I would be curious why.

Supposedly you are not supposed to raise money for a production generally, yet Star Trek: Renegades is doing just that. I am really surious why CBS has done nothing. Because if Renegades can do it, then why not the rest of us?

Alec

USS Intrepid · November 22 2012, 06:29 PM

Linnear wrote:

Maurice wrote:

I don't get the finger-pointing here. The subject is what CBS does and doesn't tolerate re fan productions, and all of the information presented thus far could have been done so much more cleanly. One merely needs to say "you can't do this", and not add the pointless "like film X does."

Agreed. But I do think specific examples are relevant in how and why CBS enforces rules. It is one thing to say you can't do X, but is some production does do X and CBS does nothing, then I would be curious why.

Supposedly you are not supposed to raise money for a production generally, yet Star Trek: Renegades is doing just that. I am really surious why CBS has done nothing. Because if Renegades can do it, then why not the rest of us?

Alec

Fair question. IMO as always.

Maurice · November 22 2012, 06:37 PM

^^^Corporate legal departments are busy places, and sometimes they simply don't have the bandwidth to deal with every piddling little violation as it pops up. I work at a company with a lot of I.P. and our legal dept. makes note of intellectual property violations (in fact, one of our legal team approached me about this kind of thing just yesterday), even if they don't immediately act on it, but sooner or later they get enough of these on record to merit spending the time and energy to act on them, and when they do, a bunch of C&D (Cease & Desist) letters go out.

The more fan filmmakers push the boundaries of fundraising and the gray areas surrounding that, the greater the likelihood that CBS's lawyers will eventually say, "look, there's a growing trend of these groups using our I.P. to raise money," at which point, watch out.

USS Intrepid · November 22 2012, 06:47 PM

Yeah I realise that, but I'd be surprised if Renegades is just slipping under the radar. The actors involved and the amount of publicising they're doing makes it seem likely (to me at least) that the powers that be would have acted by now if they're going to.

So I agree with Alec. I'm quite curious about it all (not that it's really any of my business).

andriech · November 23 2012, 11:05 AM

If people had READ my whole post they would have seen that this is exactly what I was saying. I was NOT finger pointing....I said that, despite CBS's "guidelines for fanfilms to remain legal in our opinion", there are multiple cases across the board where folks are "technically breaking the rules" and yet CBS is letting them slide. (If I hadn't mentioned examples, I daresay people would have been up in arms demanding I back up my statement.)

I further went on to say, as Nick did, that it's really none of our business. There is no clause that says CBS has to be any more fair than the rest of the world is in life. If "Renegades" can collect all that money because they have contacts at CBS other than CBS legal (as Tom stated) than good for them. They found a winning lottery ticket and, just as when we watch those people on the news get their lottery checks, all we can do is congratulate and wish them the best openly while dreaming about what WE would do if so lucky and grumbling about the $10 winner in our hand.

Face it, ANY of "us" that exist has a winning hand - cause we are able to do what we love - and the fans win too. And you know what? Sweating about anything other than that is just as silly as arguing about who owns the air...

USS Intrepid · November 23 2012, 05:54 PM

andriech wrote:

I further went on to say, as Nick did, that it's really none of our business. There is no clause that says CBS has to be any more fair than the rest of the world is in life. If "Renegades" can collect all that money because they have contacts at CBS other than CBS legal (as Tom stated) than good for them. They found a winning lottery ticket and, just as when we watch those people on the news get their lottery checks, all we can do is congratulate and wish them the best openly while dreaming about what WE would do if so lucky and grumbling about the $10 winner in our hand.

Face it, ANY of "us" that exist has a winning hand - cause we are able to do what we love - and the fans win too. And you know what? Sweating about anything other than that is just as silly as arguing about who owns the air...

Nicely put Patty.

mstrat · March 16 2013, 08:25 PM

Hey Patty, I'm working on a fan film video being created for YouTube and for certain reasons, wanted to get in touch with CBS Legal about it. I don't seem to be able to PM you. Can you PM me with the information so I can reach out to Mallory and the team there?

GSchnitzer · March 16 2013, 09:02 PM

mstrat wrote:

Hey Patty, I'm working on a fan film video being created for YouTube and for certain reasons, wanted to get in touch with CBS Legal about it. I don't seem to be able to PM you. Can you PM me with the information so I can reach out to Mallory and the team there?

Your PM functionality (sending and receiving PMs) becomes activated after you have been a member on TrekBBS for 14 days and have made 28 posts to he boards.

November 21 2012, 10:36 AM	#77
batboy853 Lieutenant	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films I honestly think this thread and the Titan thread need to be locked down, nothing good has been coming from them lately just people causing bad blood between each other.

November 21 2012, 02:54 PM	#78
GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, Terra	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films People need to not engage in mudslinging so much and need to stop sowing discontent. I'm watching this thread carefully.... __________________ Greg Schnitzer Co-Executive Producer Star Trek Phase II http://www.startrekphase2.com http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3348883/ Last edited by GSchnitzer; November 25 2012 at 08:13 PM.

November 22 2012, 01:42 AM	#79
Maurice Rear Admiral Location: Maurice in San Francisco	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films I don't get the finger-pointing here. The subject is what CBS does and doesn't tolerate re fan productions, and all of the information presented thus far could have been done so much more cleanly. One merely needs to say "you can't do this", and not add the pointless "like film X does." __________________ * * * "Star Trek…at times sparkled with true ingenuity, and pure science fiction approaches, and at other times was more carnival like, and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form." —Rod Serling, 1970"

November 22 2012, 03:03 AM	#80
Potemkin_Prod Fleet Captain Location: Southwest Georgia	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films Exactly. __________________ Randy -------------------- Project Potemkin http://www.projectpotemkin.com

November 22 2012, 06:37 PM	#83
Maurice Rear Admiral Location: Maurice in San Francisco	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films ^^^Corporate legal departments are busy places, and sometimes they simply don't have the bandwidth to deal with every piddling little violation as it pops up. I work at a company with a lot of I.P. and our legal dept. makes note of intellectual property violations (in fact, one of our legal team approached me about this kind of thing just yesterday), even if they don't immediately act on it, but sooner or later they get enough of these on record to merit spending the time and energy to act on them, and when they do, a bunch of C&D (Cease & Desist) letters go out. The more fan filmmakers push the boundaries of fundraising and the gray areas surrounding that, the greater the likelihood that CBS's lawyers will eventually say, "look, there's a growing trend of these groups using our I.P. to raise money," at which point, watch out. __________________ * * * "Star Trek…at times sparkled with true ingenuity, and pure science fiction approaches, and at other times was more carnival like, and very much more the creature of television than the creature of a legitimate literary form." —Rod Serling, 1970" Last edited by Maurice; November 22 2012 at 08:07 PM.

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November 22 2012, 06:47 PM	#84
USS Intrepid Commodore Location: Dundee, Scotland, UK	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films Yeah I realise that, but I'd be surprised if Renegades is just slipping under the radar. The actors involved and the amount of publicising they're doing makes it seem likely (to me at least) that the powers that be would have acted by now if they're going to. So I agree with Alec. I'm quite curious about it all (not that it's really any of my business). __________________ Star Trek: Intrepid

November 23 2012, 11:05 AM	#85
andriech Lieutenant Commander Location: New England	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films If people had READ my whole post they would have seen that this is exactly what I was saying. I was NOT finger pointing....I said that, despite CBS's "guidelines for fanfilms to remain legal in our opinion", there are multiple cases across the board where folks are "technically breaking the rules" and yet CBS is letting them slide. (If I hadn't mentioned examples, I daresay people would have been up in arms demanding I back up my statement.) I further went on to say, as Nick did, that it's really none of our business. There is no clause that says CBS has to be any more fair than the rest of the world is in life. If "Renegades" can collect all that money because they have contacts at CBS other than CBS legal (as Tom stated) than good for them. They found a winning lottery ticket and, just as when we watch those people on the news get their lottery checks, all we can do is congratulate and wish them the best openly while dreaming about what WE would do if so lucky and grumbling about the $10 winner in our hand. Face it, ANY of "us" that exist has a winning hand - cause we are able to do what we love - and the fans win too. And you know what? Sweating about anything other than that is just as silly as arguing about who owns the air... __________________ Producer/Costumer/Writer for Cawley Entertainment Company/Retro Film Studios. Asst. to J. Cawley

March 16 2013, 08:25 PM	#87
mstrat Cadet	Re: CBS's "Rules of Engagement" for Star Trek Fan Films Hey Patty, I'm working on a fan film video being created for YouTube and for certain reasons, wanted to get in touch with CBS Legal about it. I don't seem to be able to PM you. Can you PM me with the information so I can reach out to Mallory and the team there?