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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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This is all true, but I'd think a judge would want to know why CBS chose to enforce its copyright in this case.

Why would you think that?

If this thing gets as far as people making statements under oath Peters is fucked.
 
that would be me among others, mentioned because I also was saying it didn't make sense to say its a documentary, another exemption for fair use, because they are making up the details they are documenting. And how do you do a documentary about the events in a made up story at all.
Exactly. If I made a documentary about Star Trek's history in television and movies, that would be a transformative work, but making a fake documentary about made up history in the Star Trek universe? It's someone making their own interpretation of an already owned and established IP, and doesn't fall under fair use.*


*I make these statements from a lay perspective. I am not a lawyer, though I have flirted with several.
 
CBS could sue ANY fan film for use of their IP, regardless of money made or not.

Which at the end of the day, with even the more successful fan productions, New Voyages, Continues, or Renegades, what sort of money could CBS expect to recover? In the Case of Axanar, they may be able to pay back their legal fees, and now they have a strong standing on any future C&D's they issue.
 
Which at the end of the day, with even the more successful fan productions, New Voyages, Continues, or Renegades, what sort of money could CBS expect to recover? In the Case of Axanar, they may be able to pay back their legal fees, and now they have a strong standing on any future C&D's they issue.

Well. That's the danger for the person stealing the IP. They might get a judgement against them that they would be personally libel for. There are statutory damages for copyright infringement. What you are suggesting: if there's no money, there's no way to sue, there's no punishment for the infringement. So, then, what are the protections for the copyright holders?

You don't get to steal and say, "I'm to poor, you can't punish me."
 
I've said it before, but I think the motivation for the suit is competition. Axanar's intent (stated or implied) has always been to make a movie to directly compete with the reboot films, and they're doing it with "borrowed" IP.

I could almost hear the "Aw, hell no!" all the way over here. :lol:
 
Well. That's the danger for the person stealing the IP. They might get a judgement against them that they would be personally libel for. There are statutory damages for copyright infringement. What you are suggesting: if there's no money, there's no way to sue, there's no punishment for the infringement. So, then, what are the protections for the copyright holders?

You don't get to steal and say, "I'm to poor, you can't punish me."

There is a saying, you can't squeeze blood from a stone... There is always ways to sue, but will you ever see your damages? Yes, having a multimillion dollar judgement over your head, is bad, but there are limits of personal income that the court will allow someone to take. If you're already poor, we don't throw people in debtors' prison.

So does CBS pump tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars into pursuing Gary's Garage Trek? I don't think so, because even when they win, by the time Gary Dies, they will still not have recouped their legal expenses behind pursuing gary to begin with.
 
as long as the donor money is not spent, that's a big chunk of change sitting around.
I was specifically talking about those productions that haven't been sued.... and why Axanar was most likely targeted. They were the highest profile, most egregious abuser of CBS/Paramount's unwritten fan film guidelines.... They had the deepest pockets to go after.
That just means you're not trying hard enough.

;)
I played Col Nathan Jesup on stage in my High School Drama Room for a monologue... while he wasn't an attorney, the scene I did was in a court room, so I think that gives me all of the qualifications I need to speak on the matter... Oh I was subpoenaed once for a deposition for someone suing my high school too....
 
There is a saying, you can't squeeze blood from a stone... There is always ways to sue, but will you ever see your damages? Yes, having a multimillion dollar judgement over your head, is bad, but there are limits of personal income that the court will allow someone to take. If you're already poor, we don't throw people in debtors' prison.

We do if they steal

So does CBS pump tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars into pursuing Gary's Garage Trek? I don't think so, because even when they win, by the time Gary Dies, they will still not have recouped their legal expenses behind pursuing gary to begin with.

No. Of course not. But Gary's Garage Trek isn't really a big deal and he was playing by the unwritten rules.

I'm saying CBS could go after them, regardless of what monies there might be. They chose not to.
 
I have a hard time believing any judge would ask "why now?" (or some variation of it...). Because of the dangerous precedent that would set. Copyright has been well-established as selectively enforced, and just by ASKING you open the door to making it "all or none."

The only thing CBS needs to prove is if Axanar infringed on copyright by law, and Axanar will either seek settlement or find a defense to argue that it's not infringement.
 
Does not matter, he is not a 501c3, and will not be, whether he has applied for it or not. He is being sued by a major corporation, he is not going to be approved as a 501c3. Lets say he some how 'miraculously' gets approved for a 501c3, it does not retroactively change anything, so the whole point is mute. It also has no bearing on the IP case at hand.

Agreed. The 501(c) question is really just a red herring and completely irrelevant to the matter of whether or not Axanar infringed on CBS/P copyrights. Further, people tend to conflate "profit" with enjoying a direct financial benefit, when these are actually two different concepts. CBS/P isn't saying that defendants gained profit. Their cause of action states that the defendants enjoyed a direct financial benefit from the infringement. Theoretically, it can be argued that every single dime that Axanar and its principles received squarely on the back of IP that they don't own and didn't license is enjoying a "direct financial benefit," and everything that flowed from that including building the infrastructure for multiple commercial businesses, drawing salaries, providing a rent free home and utilities to Propworx, etc. are all fruits of the poisonous tree.
 
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