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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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Kinda offtopic but what's with half of the I Stand With CBS group getting all bent-out of shape when TrekBBS went down, and they don't even post here?? :p

Did you guys at least use the opportunity to pretend it was down because of CBS? ;)
 
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I think you have outdone your first attempt! Top firms fighting over them...........I'm waiting on the casting call to go out for any donor that was in their High School drama class...........
 
From Robert Meyer Burnett via his Facebook page: "A hearty congratulations to everyone involved with PRELUDE TO AXANAR for winning FIVE Claw awards at the Creative Arts Online Short Film Festival. BEST SHORT FILM, BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT FILM, BEST ACTOR, Richard Hatch, BEST SOUND DESIGN Frank Serafine) and BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS (Tobias Richter). Proud to be amongst such esteemed filmmakers!"

Terms and Conditions for submitting a film to the Creative Arts Film Festival:

"To be eligible to screen, your film does not have to be a World Premiere or a USA Premiere. Films can be original or adapted works. However, ALL non-original portions of your film MUST be cleared and You must have permission to use someone else's work. If you submit a film with copyrighted or trademarked materials included and you do not have written permission to use them, you will not be eligible to screen at CAFF. This festival takes place on the internet, so it is VERY easy for owners of copyrighted work to find illegal uses. And we have no interest in getting sued. So, you must be legally authorized to represent the entire work, in writing. Also, you should copyright your film with the proper agency (in the USA, its the Library of Congress). It is not required for screening at CAFF, but it is smart on your part to protect your work."

http://www.creativeartsfilmfestival.com/tos.html
^^^
Given the terms and conditions above (if accurate) - Prelude to Axanar should have been ineligible to win any award. Some festival if it doesn't even follow its own rules. (Plus, if Axanar Productions did submit a release - then they could/should face forgery charges; UNLESS they actually have one; but were that the case, then you'd think they'd publically post it as it would render the part of the CBS lawsuit with regard to Prelude to Axanar moot) - again, just being fair although it certainly appears to be the case the Axanar Productions NEVER had any sort or release from CBS/Paramout RE: Prelude to Axanar.
 
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orson_wells_Slow-Clap.gif
 
Regarding some discussions about Fair Use, I got to thinking about the old case of "The Air Pirates" and Disney's total annihilation of that comic for Copyright infringement. In reading up on case again, I ran across this reference:

So even outright parody is not a bulletproof Fair Use defense.
I believe that particular bit of case law from 1956 was superseded by various other later decisions talked about here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#Fair_use_and_parody
 
I would imagine that Axanar Productions did not submit actual written proof to the film festivals that PRELUDE TO AXANAR had appropriate permission to use intellectual property owned by CBS/Paramount. However, by entering these festivals, they were basically acknowledging that they had this permission.

One possible approach to take in this case would be to question Axanar Productions thusly:

Q: Did you create PRELUDE TO AXANAR?
AP: Yes.
Q: Did you submit PRELUDE TO AXANAR to the Creative Arts Online Short Film Festival?
AP: Yes.
Q: Did you meet the Terms and Conditions of entering this festival?
AP: I'm not sure what you mean.
Q: Allow me to clarify. In order for your short film to be entered and accepted for consideration, you were required to meet the Terms and Conditions. Did your film meet the Terms and Conditions to the best of your knowledge?
AP: We won an award from the Creative Arts Online Short Film Festival. This could not have happened had we not met the Terms and Conditions. Thus, to the best of my knowledge, our film met the Terms and Conditions for this festival.
Q: Would you read this section of the Terms and Conditions for the court?
AP: "ALL non-original portions of your film MUST be cleared and You must have permission to use someone else's work."
Q: Did Axanar Productions have permission to use the non-original portions of your film, namely, the elements that were owned by CBS/Paramount?
AP: To my knowledge. Let me explain. We were under the impression that we were okay using such elements. It was understood that we, as a fan film, could use IP owned by CBS/Paramount.
Q: Do you have this in writing?
AP: It was understood.
Q: But you don't have this permission in writing?
AP: (long pause) No.
Q: Please read this section of the Terms and Conditions for entering a film to the Creative Arts Online Short Film Festival. This section here.
AP: "You must be legally authorized to represent the entire work, in writing. Also, you should copyright your film with the proper agency (in the USA, its the Library of Congress). It is not required for screening at CAFF, but it is smart on your part to protect your work."
Q: Once again, do you have legal authorization in writing?
AP: ... on advice of counsel, I choose to plead the fifth.
 
Kinda offtopic but what's with half of the I Stand With CBS group getting all bent-out of shape when TrekBBS went down, and they don't even post here?? :p
I'll guess that it's because this thread has been one of the primary information conduits feeding the group.

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Oh, well done.
 
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Star Wolf's 2012 video was understandably lame, but with, say, the Prelude of Axanar cast, they might have got somewhere.
It was understandably lame because they put next to zero effort into it, and just about as much effort into the campaign itself. It was an unmitigated disaster.
 
Oh certainly it does. A lot of porn is often far more complicated than "stick tab A into slot B while I tape it from behind". Hell, I've written a few scripts myself, though they were never published.
"Published"? Surely scripts are for filming/performing.
 
So here's a thought. Given that Axanar Productions is based in California, the donors might have a very strong case under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL). The California UCL is notoriously broad in scope and is often used by class action plaintiffs because it's easier to prove than fraud. With fraud, you have to prove reliance on a specific false statement or misrepresentation. But under the UCL, according to the California Supreme Court, it is "not required to necessarily plead and prove individualized reliance on specific misrepresentations or false statements"; instead, you can bring a UCL claim if the "misrepresentations and false statements were part of an extensive and long-term advertising campaign."

In other words, the donors could make the case they were misled not by any specific thing Peters or Axanar said, but rather their entire "advertising campaign," including the crowdfunding pitches, Prelude, the Vulcan scene, the podcasts, the social media, et al. Or as Homer Simpson said regarding his mortgage application, "they were all part of a single ball of lies."
 
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