He can't legally sell that, right?
CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar 2 - Electric Boogaloo-Fanboys gone WILD-too many hyphens
- Thread starter jespah
- Start date
I don't think there's much stopping him, honestly. Aesthetic designs don't have intellectual property protection in the US*, and it's not an official ship with an official name anyway. There's no legal barrier to selling a model of a spaceship called U.S.S. Ares. You could probably get away with even selling a model of the TOS Enterprise as long as the box said something like "Future Space Exploration Cruiser circa 2266" and not the trademarked phrases "Star Trek" or "Starship Enterprise." That was a fairly common practice in aftermarket Star Trek model kits back in the day, though now that distribution is so much easier, people are a lot less circumspect about not using potentially-protected names or phrases. Getting a dozen resin kits you hand-molded smashed is a lot more trouble than having a 3D-printable model taken offline, especially since you can just reupload the latter with a different name.
Alec in particular might be limited by his legal agreement with Paramount/CBS, but IIRC, the restrictions were fairly narrow, mostly to get him to stop representing merch as official Star Trek product.
*This is why luxury brands can be so garishly over the top about their logos. There's nothing stopping you from selling a handbag that's exactly the same shape as a Louis Vuitton purse, but their distinctive "LV" logo and patterns that are stitched, printed, or embossed into the material are protected under trademark law, so you can't legally duplicate that.
Alec in particular might be limited by his legal agreement with Paramount/CBS, but IIRC, the restrictions were fairly narrow, mostly to get him to stop representing merch as official Star Trek product.
*This is why luxury brands can be so garishly over the top about their logos. There's nothing stopping you from selling a handbag that's exactly the same shape as a Louis Vuitton purse, but their distinctive "LV" logo and patterns that are stitched, printed, or embossed into the material are protected under trademark law, so you can't legally duplicate that.
^^^ Alex is naked, in his parent's basement, furiously writing down ideas right now...
I see your nah and raise you a yah.
This is also due to the difference between Copyright Law and Trademark Law. As I understand it, if you have a trademark, you must defend it against all unauthorized use or risk losing it to public domain. A copyright holder may choose selectively to enforce (or not) against third-party use. Example, one author allowed fan fiction but had her lawyers send cease & desist letters for fan fiction that put her teenage characters in X-rated stories. On the other hand Mickey Mouse is trademarked and thus is why Disney sends lawyers after grandmothers who hand-embroider him on a sweater for her grandson and hospitals that paint him on the walls in the children's ward. Yes, it looks bad from a PR point of view, but legally, they are required to do so.
As to the Axanar ship models, I think they should lose in court as it's obviously a derivative of Paramount's Trek look & feel.
The one big thing that could block this model's production and sale is the prior lawsuit brought to Axanar, Inc. by CBS/Viacom/Paramount. There's already precedent established for IP theft/infringement in this case, above and beyond "fair use" predicates. Mostly because of revenue generated for the project (and other purposes). It may accelerate the process, because, y'know, I don't think they're giving away the kits for free! 
That, and C/V/P has a history of sending their lawyers, in general, after producers of garage kits, blueprints and other Trek-related memorabilia not considered "officially sanctioned", when $$$ is involved. This is especially true if said-products flew in the face of released merchandise (or of imminent release). The Stage 9 effort was another example of this - I think due to new (licensed) walkthrough's being added to STO for purchase. I can't remember clearly if that was the catalyst for the S9 shutdown, or if it was something else, but there was definitely an official C&D involved there.
That, and C/V/P has a history of sending their lawyers, in general, after producers of garage kits, blueprints and other Trek-related memorabilia not considered "officially sanctioned", when $$$ is involved. This is especially true if said-products flew in the face of released merchandise (or of imminent release). The Stage 9 effort was another example of this - I think due to new (licensed) walkthrough's being added to STO for purchase. I can't remember clearly if that was the catalyst for the S9 shutdown, or if it was something else, but there was definitely an official C&D involved there.
I dunno. I hear what you're saying, and if it was some Chinese company I've never heard of making this model, I'd bet it would fly underneath CBS/Paramount's radar. But this is Alec Peters we're talking about. I don't think it matters that the Ares is an original design*, it looks Star Trek enough that Paramount would have a case, Plus, as was mentioned above, they already had a lawsuit against Axanar in the past.
*Original, as in it's clearly based on the design influences of Starfleet vessels, which are not Peters' IP.
Yeah, nobody looks at that and goes, "Oh, look, Star Wars!"
And unless you knew where it was from, you'd assume it was from some modern Trek show you don't want to watch/never watched, or some video game.
If Alec was such a genius, he wouldn't still be milking this thing what -- about a decade later now??? -- and would have wowed us with some new short film with total original ideas (assuming such a project got film and wasn't in Fundrasing Hell forever).
And unless you knew where it was from, you'd assume it was from some modern Trek show you don't want to watch/never watched, or some video game.
If Alec was such a genius, he wouldn't still be milking this thing what -- about a decade later now??? -- and would have wowed us with some new short film with total original ideas (assuming such a project got film and wasn't in Fundrasing Hell forever).
And on top of that, some of the VFX shots in the scant few Axanar shorts that were made were straight-up copies of shots in the Kelvin films.
Kinda sorta. Trademarks must be used, which is to prevent anyone from squatting on them. IIRC while Standard Oil per se no longer exists, at least three current companies have rights to use the brand Standard in various markets, and either sell products or have gas/petrol stations bearing the Standard name in order to keep that trademark. A company need not actively squash every single instance of trademark infringement, but must demonstrate that they've not abandoned it by sitting on the sidelines while someone else uses their mark to the point where they can make a claim on it.
Visual marks are more complicated because even if the trademark lapses, the copyright on the visual representation of the logo and related graphics remain intact.
Completely insane that some loser is still making a living from the promise of a never-releasing Star Trek fan film, and getting bankrolled by an actual cult.
Actually surprised he hadn't pissed off the Magical Mystery School yet and been made to Magically Mysteriously Disappear
Actually surprised he hadn't pissed off the Magical Mystery School yet and been made to Magically Mysteriously Disappear
He has the power of Q's Jewish Space Lasers™ on his side.
No movie yet. And yes, I know people that allegedly had seen it like over a year ago.
And the Klingon ships as well. The Ares is great for the TOS era but it's completely marred by an awful history in this project. It also grinds a bit on the narrative as the CONSTITUTION class was to be the main weapon against the Klingons.
Alec Peters: the nuEnergizer Bunny.
He just keeps going, and going, and going, and going, and going...
He just keeps going, and going, and going, and going, and going...
Alec re-invented snake oil, and it's total bitchcakes.
And the outraged people who think that hating current Trek is sufficient for being a fan.