CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar 2 - Electric Boogaloo-Fanboys gone WILD-too many hyphens

I really can't see that Axanar art book being OK if he's going to actually sell it. I think companies are a little more willing to turn a blind eye to stuff like that if it's something you're doing for free, but once you start actually selling it, then you've crossed the line. I could maybe see them letting it slide if it was someone who hadn't done this kind of thing before, but I really can't see them let Peters get away with this.
Over in the Literature forum, there have been several instances where people have come across fan fiction being sold on places like Amazon, and it's then been reported so it could taken down since it's illegal to sell that kind of stuff. I'm pretty sure this would be the same kind of situation.

 

Peters is probably having issues finding a California Process Server that will serve out of state papers to RMB; or is trying to find a way to legally serve RMB WITHOUT having to pay a Process Server. Plus if the Judge requested the Process Server to testify he did serve papers, Peters would have to fly the person out to Georgia, pay for his accommodations, etc.

Years ago, you MIGHT have been able to get someone from a Sheriff's dept. to do it, but in CA and most other states, they no longer want to deal with serving of papers in any Civil actions UNLESS directly order by a court Judge to do so.

 

To be fair, there’s been a ton of fan-made print-media merchandise over the decades without much in the way of corporate backlash. It’s generally video and computer multimedia projects that seem to catch the lawyers’ attention. After the Axanar debacle, however, the rules have likely changed and nobody will truly know until they receive their first C&D.

Sadly, I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing an art book on the project. I couldn’t care less about AP and his creation of yet another ego signature. I would like to learn more about the talented artists that made what we have seen, including Tourangeau’s and Richter’s work.

 

Hasn't most of that usually been given away for free?

 

Oh no. Every blueprint packet or book on starship design I’ve ever owned I’ve paid for, either at a convention or online. And I have a collection spanning 35 years. I have received a small number of schematic donations for my site during that time, but all the rest had a price tag on them.

 

You mean like Stage 9 group that got a direct C&D a few months ago? (They made a freeware interior model of the 1701-D you could walk around in on a PC).

Also, Cons will still eject or shutdown a table if they know it's selling unlicensed merchandise; and I haven't seen anyone charging for that type of thing OPENLY on-line of late.

Again, Peters effectively ADVERTISED PUBLICLY he may do said book on his monetized Youtube channel. That's a bit more than hawking some small set of unlicensed merchandise at a Con table (which he's done and a couple of times been forced to remove said merchandise.

It all depends on what you do and how you do it, and Paramount has an existing settlement with Peters over the 'fan film' aspect of AXANAR already - so to come out and publicly say he'll be doing more unlicensed merchandise is just "Poking the Bear" some more here.

 

Peters' book plans going way back called for crowdfunding to "sell" the books by calling them perks. That may be how he tries to get around "selling" anything.

 

In today's AxaMonitor Daily: EXCLUSIVE — Burnett's lawyer hits back at Peters. Also: Tardigrade attorneys want more time. Patreon hit erases almost 2 weeks progress. #BigWinForAxanarStoryboards. Also: RIP SphinxCon. You can subscribe here for access to today's newsletter.

 

I'm going to do a live stream 4hour/7day Star trek reality show with kittens and each week's high donor will get to decide if the Captain gets his Kitty Box cleaned or beamed to the Klingon ship, maybe even send out a sample bag of official Captains mildly used litter to some lucky donor. (Kidding)

 

Peters will probably end up getting Guidelines For Fanfiction for everyone.

 

That's been his plan all along - it's what he planned to do with the Axanar Technical Manual or whatever ("The Ships of Axanar") I was briefly involved with.

I'd be very surprised though, given this long-running controversy around the project and himself personally, if he found a printer willing to facilitate this kind of infringement (I would think whatever printer/printing house could also be held liable if CBS went after him again?)

 

^^^
Yeah, no. Wouldn't work here. Merchandise still needs to be properly licensed; 'Perk' or not. And if it's for "the studio" - an argument can be made that Mr. Peters is illegally getting a financial benefuit via use of an unlicensed item related to the 'Star Trek' IP - much like CBS/Paramount SUCCESSFULLY argued in the AXANAR fanfilm lawsuit.

I also might be a violation of the settlement agreement for the Axanar fan film as the ONLY THING the agreement allows Axanar images to be used for in two 15 minute fan film segments (per the fan film guidelines) and some other 'AXANAR only' suspension of certain guideline aspects (IE he can use some former Star Trek starts if the actors agree, etc.)

So, yeah, CBS could argue said agreement specifically states what Axanar footage can be used for - and I doubt that includes a Coffee Table Art Book - 'perk' or not.

But hey, time will tell, and Alec Peters and AXANAR is the circus that keeps on giving...

(If you're into egomaniacs who can't get it through their head that they own/have actual rights to NOTHING 'Star Trek' related; yet continue to use the 'Star Trek' IP to make a living/start a studio.)

 

YouTube actively adjusts subscriber and view counts to reflect actual numbers, discounting things like purchased views and subs - which are traceable by the IP addresses used and the frequency of views amongst other things.

Basically - Alec paid for views and subs, which explains his sudden rise in popularity... but YouTube is on to it.

 

Oh, seriously? So, that's him getting... busted?

 

Funny how the one thing Peters is good at is getting CBS to do things. He suggests Guidelines and they have no choice but make them. How is he so gosh darn talented?

 

If he bought bot views and subs, then YouTube will discount them after passing an audit over the counts (they do this for every account and automatically I believe... usually spurred on by a sudden sharp increase - like him being inactive for years then suddenly adding 10k subs and tens of thousands of views.)

It skirts the terms of service and while you can buy legitimate views these are far more expensive because the seller has to ensure they're not treated as a bot view.

 

There are apparently ways to legally produce books ABOUT Star Trek (and other media properties) without being authorized but that skirt those requirements. Check out the entries for authors Edward Gross and Mark A Altman on Amazon. They are prolifically publishing guidebooks and other nonfiction works about Star Trek, Battlestar: Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rocky, etc, including photos obviously from the productions themselves, yet all clearly labeled as "unauthorized". They've been doing so for years; I even have a couple I bought in a regular bookstore. So there must be a legal niche for those sorts of works. Some unauthorized and unlicensed material must be able to be sold without being sued. You just need to do it the right way...

But I doubt that a "guidebook" about Axanar, itself an unlicensed fan film, could qualify as an exempted publication.