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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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Wow, just wow. Did they forget they were making a fan film here? The amount of merchandise is ridiculous. How did any of them expect to get away with all of this? Was there nobody there that was like "Um, hey guys, maybe we shouldn't do this?" Maybe there was, maybe Christian Gossett was one of those people and he left when it was evident that they didn't give a fuck if they were flying right over the line or not. Maybe I'm an idiot and should expect this, but I'm continuously astonished by their actions. What was meant to be a fan film turned into a money grab and everyone involved who agreed with it should be ashamed. I can tell that at the very least the ones at the top aren't, trying to convince everyone that they were not doing anything other fan films. Last time I checked other fan films weren't selling things under the guise of a donation.
Absolutely disgusting it is.
 
carlosp said:
Here are details about that planned book, itself planned for a Kickstarter, and a picture.
fetch.php
Click to expand...
And for a small "donation" of $29.95, you can get a 12oz box of "Axanarios: The Four Years War Breakfast Cereal"! Packed with 11 essential vitamins and minerals, it's just what you need to start your day of projection, obfuscation and denial! "They're Meeeeeeeeediocre!"
 
With Abject apologies to Simon and Garfunkel


The Boxanar

He was just a poor boy.
Now his story's often told,
He has squandered his donations
For a copyright infringement
And his promises...
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest.

Oooo oo ooooo

When He first used Star Trek's IP
And began his fakery
He was no more than a PropMan
In the company of Innocents and Unawares
Running bold,
Obsfucating
Building Studios and Fibbing
Where the rental people go,
Looking for the places
Only they would know.

Lie-la-lie...oh he lied, lie-lie-la-lie,
Oh he lied...oh-he-lied-lie-lie-la-lie, oh-he-lied-la-liiiiiieee

Asking only "workman's wages"
He came looking for a job,
But he got no offers,
Just a video to show
His "Fan Film" Axanar
I do declare,
That there are times when don't like
The fallout, falling on my
Legal Star Trek

Lie-la-lie...

Then I'm reading all about it, and
I'm wishing it was gone,
Court date soon?
Where the California rulings
Could ruin other films
Settlements
"Voyage Home"

In the courtroom stands Infringement
And a scammer by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry scene that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger, with no shame,
"Its not Star Trek, It's not Star Trek."
But the untruth still remains

Lie-la-lie...oh he lied, lie-lie-la-lie,
Oh he lied...oh-he-lied-lie-lie-la-lie, oh-he-lied-la-liiiiiieee
 
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jespah said:
Even if the IP on this system falls, Klingon still means Trek and, if you have a person dressed in an appreciable percentage of a screen-worn film costume, with a character named under an understood naming convention, and discussing basic copyrighted plot points and copyrighted elements of the IP, and speaking the language developed for said IP, then you've got a derivative (e. g. not fair use, and not transformative) work.
Click to expand...

And I just got around to actually reading the Paramount filing against the amicus brief. It looks like that's the route they're going with this -- trying to avoid the question of the language's copyrightability altogether -- and instead simply using it as an element of a substantial similarity test.

Which is what you've been saying is their real intention here all along! So, kudos. I misunderstood their intent in the First Amended Complaint.
 
It's just ridiculous. The Klingon words/language were developed for Star Trek, which means it belongs to those who own Star Trek. In spite of the use of the "language" outside of the film (at cons and such - and *always* by Star Trek fans, says something, does it not?) it is *not* a "living language."

It's an amazement that such a brief wasn't thrown out directly and that people would be stupid enough to assume that the language is anything other than what it really is. No wonder people think Trekkies are batshit crazy. In this case, one must agree with that assessment.
 
Hallgarth said:
Wow, just wow. Did they forget they were making a fan film here? The amount of merchandise is ridiculous. How did any of them expect to get away with all of this? Was there nobody there that was like "Um, hey guys, maybe we shouldn't do this?" Maybe there was, maybe Christian Gossett was one of those people and he left when it was evident that they didn't give a fuck if they were flying right over the line or not. Maybe I'm an idiot and should expect this, but I'm continuously astonished by their actions. What was meant to be a fan film turned into a money grab and everyone involved who agreed with it should be ashamed. I can tell that at the very least the ones at the top aren't, trying to convince everyone that they were not doing anything other fan films. Last time I checked other fan films weren't selling things under the guise of a donation.
Absolutely disgusting it is.
Click to expand...

It's amazing what a lawsuit will do. Two years ago, when Alec was making the rounds promoting the ever-loving shit out of this, this board was full of people ready to gobble up his bread and circuses. Even established writers for Pocket like David Mack were defending the project.

I sort of get it; this was all new ground and a lot of people just didn't get it. They didn't see all the pieces moving toward this eventuality. Some of us did though, and this book and Dave Galanter's revelation that Peters wanted him to use a pen name to write the novella as a means of evading the stipulations of a signed, legal and binding contract is just further proof that Alec Peters has no respect for the law, professionalism, or ownership in general. He has no problem throwing shade and insults and suspicion on others if it will suit his needs, and he has no problem trying to discredit those in a position to highlight his ineptitude and iniquity. Christian Gossett, Dave Galanter, Tony Todd, Sean Tourangeau, Vic Mignogna, and all the others who have worked with or supported Peters can attest to it.

This very message board was a perfectly fine place for him to promote his propaganda until the people running it clamped down and made it clear he was, much like the rest of us mere mortals, expected to follow the rules. Today, he's been thrice-banned and has nary a good word to share about ol' TrekBBS. I wonder why?

At the time the book was being hocked here, I myself finally got myself banned with one warning too many for calling this scam out for what it was and remains to be, and also coining the ever apropos title for this anthology: Fifty Shades of Axanar.

Now, almost all those people who were so eager to defend Axanar and Alec's big plans for his ill-gotten Star Trek kingdom are just about nowhere to be seen.

How easy it is to slip back into the shadows when proven so irrefutably and embarrassingly wrong. :lol:

So, in conclusion:

Star Trek: owned by CBS.

Alec Peters: owned by his own scumbaggery.
 
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Maybe you can copyright a language maybe but there's something about that which makes me think of copyrighting the happy birthday song. You don't want to take that copyright and actively interfere with what people are doing purely for fun. Like, I wouldn't want to see CBS issue take-down notices on Youtube for convention clips of people speaking in klingon. That's taking things way too far.
 
HIjol said:
With Abject apologies to Simon and Garfunkle


The Boxanar

He was just a poor boy.
Now his story's often told,
He has squandered his donations
For a copyright infringement
And his promises...
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest.

Oooo oo ooooo

When He first used Star Trek's IP
And began his fakery
He was no more than a PropMan
In the company of Innocents and Unawares
Running bold,
Obsfucating
Building Studios and Fibbing
Where the rental people go,
Looking for the places
Only they would know.

Lie-la-lie...oh he lied, lie-lie-la-lie,
Oh he lied...oh-he-lied-lie-lie-la-lie, oh-he-lied-la-liiiiiieee

Asking only "workman's wages"
He came looking for a job,
But he got no offers,
Just a video to show
His "Fan Film" Axanar
I do declare,
That there are times when don't like
The fallout, falling on my
Legal Star Trek

Lie-la-lie...

Then I'm reading all about it, and
I'm wishing it was gone,
Court date soon?
Where the California rulings
Could ruin other films
Settlements
"Voyage Home"

In the courtroom stands Infringement
And a scammer by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry scene that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger, with no shame,
"Its not Star Trek, It's not Star Trek."
But the untruth still remains

Lie-la-lie...oh he lied, lie-lie-la-lie,
Oh he lied...oh-he-lied-lie-lie-la-lie, oh-he-lied-la-liiiiiieee
Click to expand...



I loved This!
 
mos6507 said:
Maybe you can copyright a language maybe but there's something about that which makes me think of copyrighting the happy birthday song. You don't want to take that copyright and actively interfere with what people are doing purely for fun. Like, I wouldn't want to see CBS issue take-down notices on Youtube for convention clips of people speaking in klingon. That's taking things way too far.
Click to expand...

The people who were claiming ownership of the birthday song weren't breaking into people's houses and demanding money every time they sang it.

This was enforced in movies and television shows and such, where ANY copyrighted song would have to be licensed. Just like if I want to use a Beatles song in my Web production, I better have the rights, and paid whatever royalties that were demanded.

The reason why this had been done many times AFTER the fact was because people didn't even realize the song was copyrighted (it ain't anymore).
 
Alec: I'm not in the Fan Film business, I'm in the Empire business! Sorry, got to use Breaking Bad quotes in here some where. Lol
 
Coloratura said:
It's like they have this impression Star Trek was made as a gift for humanity. It isn't. We love it, it's a terrific show with some great (and not so great) ideas, but it was never meant to be freely distributed. It exists to make money.
Click to expand...

Exactly. These Axanar guys believe they should be able to use Star Trek for their own ends and profitability. They do not own the property or have a right to use it. Its despicable that they are even trying to make it seem like they are in the right here when they know they aren't. Totally ridiculous.
 
I'd never heard the term "intellectual property" until Letterman left NBC for CBS and rights to stuff like "Viewer Mail" was up in the air.

If NBC could claim ownership of that IP, it's not hard to understand how everything in the Trek universe could be claimed by CBS/Paramount. Even the Klingon language. After all, it was invented to serve the franchise.

For a giggle, check out the tv movie "The Late Shift." Letterman hated it. :lol:
 
T'Bonz said:
It's just ridiculous. The Klingon words/language were developed for Star Trek, which means it belongs to those who own Star Trek.
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't mean that, the law says otherwise, and CBS/P is now explicitly avoiding making that claim (because it is a false claim and they would not succeed with it).

Karzak said:
Also: Anyone who thinks Klingon doesn't belong to the rightful owners of Star Trek (CBS) is as insane and as deluded as Alec Peters.
Click to expand...

At this point in the conversation, a statement like this is willful ignorance.
 
Willful ignorance? I think not.

Willful ignorance is the malady plaguing anyone who doesn't yet see Alec Peters for the flickerpiss nosescum of fandom (and society in general, really) that he has always been.
 
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