He knowingly signed up for Kickstarter knowing he hadn't obtained the necessary permission, and nonetheless extracted funds from donors. That's where the fraud lies.
This, I think, is where we disagree. This statement presumes that the average Kickstarter donor is even aware of what people agree to when they sign up to solicit donations on Kickstarter. I don't think the vast majority are, so this can't really be construed to be fraudulent with respect to the donor (since he had it in the disclaimers).
He could potentially be liable for intent to defraud Kickstarter itself, though that would be pretty thin since they would still benefit from it regardless of the outcome.
To be clear, I'm not defending Peters in the slightest; I just don't think this argument would go anywhere in a court of law. There are too many ways he can weasel out of it.
What's more, he fund raised for a movie. He did not fund raise for salaries, a for profit studio and so on. That is another fraud and also civil misrepresentation. In layman's terms, he solicited money without giving his donors the full facts.
This one I'm unclear on. I would have to go back and check the Kickstarter again, but I think in the
current incarnations of the campaigns, the studio is mentioned. I've also heard that this may have been a retroactive addition, but I'm fuzzy on the details (or if the retroactivity was relative to something else). From the moment that I found out about it, though, the studio was included I believe.
Of course, in going back and checking, I ran into this gem from the Prelude kickstarter (which I hadn't read before):
Prelude Kickstarter convincingly said:
Infrastructure - We are spending $ 10,000 to fund the infrastructure of Axanar Productions. This means the legal paperwork needed to create our production company and the rather expensive insurance to cover all our productions over the coming year. It allows us to set up production offices (We have gotten the space for free in some amazing offices here in Los Angeles) and start to produce Axanar.
Well, the "free office" thing didn't last long, did it? But I digress. In the Axanar kickstarter, it says this:
The Big Sleazy smarmily said:
We have two potential locations we are negotiating for to serve as our sound stage in Valencia, CA, just north of LA. This will be the permanent home of Axanar Productions and allow us to do more than just Axanar, from other adventures in the Star Trek universe and beyond. [...] First year's rent is $ 125,000.
It also talks about the cost of renovation of the sound stage, so unless that was retroactively added (which I can't speak to), then fraud will be hard to prove on the basis of the studio shenanigans.
Of course, while the consumers may have little recourse there, Paramount/CBS can nail him to the wall on that I'd think. Using the Star Trek brand to raise money without permission is a no-no, especially when your newly funded studio is a commercial venture in the end.
I again have to question the "logo" part of the case, or the insignia on the uniforms with the warp curve. That has been used so many times I don't feel it would be right to claim infringement on that.
This implies that if someone steals my car enough times, it shouldn't be a crime. I may think there is room for improvement in the fairness of intellectual property law, but I certainly
do not advocate wholesale theft being legal just because it's a popular pastime.
The only thing I remember specifically was that they did not disclose to their potential donors @ kickstarter/igg immediately upon actually being sued.
