A Big Suggerstion

[Australis]

I don't normally come in here, but I had a thought today that might help fan productions gain some official status and extra funding.

If the studio is going to concentrate on this iteration of Trek, then there's an argument that can be put forward that the fan productions could be licensed to be allowed to raise funding, with a (small) percentage going to Paramount, with the proviso that they don't go to the new universe. Sorta what the BBC does with Dr Who audio adventures - use any Dr except 9 and 10 (and probably 11).

So has anyone suggested this yet? Anyone think Paramount might be approachable?

While I'm perfectly happy wiht the new movie, I wouldn't mind seeing some original U stories, and I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people out there who think the same.

 

[Hudson_uk]

It's a good idea but I believe the TV and Film rights are seperately owned so don't expect them to give them up just yet...

 

[Australis]

Good point. I suppose it now depends on what the TV rights holders decide what they want to do with them.

I suppose they could put some investment into the fan prods and make them ready for broadcast...

 

[Maurice]

I can tell you right now that they'd probably say the cost of the legal work to make such licenses would cost the copyright holders more than what they'd make. There's also tricky issues with protecting copyright, and I seriously doubt anyone at CBS/Paramount wants to haggle over ownership of fan created characters, etc. There's the very cost of doing business, and if your legal fees are likely to be as much or more than your potential profits you're just gonna say "no".

 

[Australis]

Can't hurt to ask. Eugene would probably be in favour, if his word/name carries anything, and the Who example could be pointed out - just ask them how they did it.

 

[Hudson_uk]

If you're referring to the Big Finish Audio shows for Dr Who, they're licenced by the BBC.

 

[Australis]

That's my point - ask BF how they did it, ask BBC what they expected, write up a proposal to put to Paramount citing the example.

 

[Maurice]

You think BF and BBC are going to take the time to tell you the details of the deal they struck, so you can learn from their experience and make a deal with someone else?

I don't mean to be a wet blanket here, but there's a difference with fan films. The BF example appears to be using characters that are being licensed out by the Beeb, whereas most fan films have original characters. Most work done for Star Trek licenses in the past has resulted in the characters and stuff becoming the property of Paramount, and that's a risk if anyone wanted to do such a thing with a fan production.

 

[Australis]

Well, if you want to forget the idea, fine. Just tryin' to help, saw an opening maybe. All you need is one friendly ear to get the ball rollin', but hey, if it's too hard, okay.

 

[Maurice]

I'm not saying it's impossible: it's just unlikely for the reasons I stated above. It's not about forgetting the idea. You put the idea up for discussion, so we're discussing it.

 

[Wowbagger]

I did recently see a Doctor Who fan-audio-show (not Big Finish, but pure fan) earning profit. It was, like, $10 (or pounds or whatever), but still... money.

Problem is, I'm not at all confident that they had any sort of licensing worked out with the Beeb. They were probably just making money in ignorance of copyright law.

Wish I could remember the link.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

More than one fan film has approached Paramount and CBS about some form of licensing. No dice thus far.