CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
- Start date
- Status
Has anyone been reading the Axanar.PR website? The About page is tucked in the footer if you're curious. Looks like the most recent updates are from October 2015.
If they included that scene in the film then they could claim Axanar as a porn parody.
Problem solved!
So that is why they have Cushman... It all makes sense now
they could try, but you can bet in that case most of it will end up in basements, to emerge as auctionable "Trek history" in a few years.
We want to drill out all the oil, and we want to respect the rights of the nations sitting on it to make a faint protest as we proceed.
Not for profits cannot have shareholders who own equity and receive dividends. Alec and his director spoke openly in at least one podcast about doing Axanar in order to build credibility with and attract future equity investors in Ares studio. Its amazing how things can be "transparent", but at the same time spun so as to be the opposite of "clear" to donors.
read this page for more: http://nonprofit.about.com/od/qathebasics/f/nopvspro.htm
The first thing he needs to hear from his legal team is, "we are Trek fans and you are f**ing it all up for everyone, shut up while we try to triage this disaster"
Really? We have to drag his girlfriend into all of this?
Quick reply because I'm on my phone.
First Netflix example is totally irrelevant. Netflix is a professional distributor of movies/TV shows (and they have a relationship with CBS).
And I've seen worse in IP infringement. There is a douchebag (my opinion) who takes people personal Instagram photos and prints them, UNALTERED and sells them for (get ready) tens of thousands of dollars. Photographers have brought him to court and LOST.
Would the difference be that Axanar is not listed as a non-profit? I'm a bit confused, here about why it should matter or not if Axanar was engaged in commercial transactions. For example, PBS gives out products in exchange for donations all the time, but they're truly a non-profit. The amount that needs to be donated is always more than the cost of the product ($35 for a mug? $125 for a DVD?). PBS then uses the donations as part of its budget, which would included administrative costs (and salaries). Of course, PBS has permission to use the products, or developed them themselves.
I'm just a bit confused about why this was something that would get Axanar in trouble other than they were giving out things that ripped off CBS/Paramount IP. Or, I'm reading it all wrong, and the problem is only that they were using CBS/Paramount IP as inducements to donate.
Also in the entirety of it all, the profit or non-profit thing doesn't really matter (as has been said by someone about every ten pages in this thread). It's how they used CBS/Paramount IP and the financial scale of it all that got them into trouble.
Profit is not a determining factor in defending a copyright. According to previous discussions here, the IP owner only has to show that they are the copyright holder, and that the IP is being used without their permission.
It can be argued that Peters is profiting from this though.
He is taking a salary as a producer. That makes him a professional, not an amateur.
He is also building out a studio, signed a 3 year lease, with funds from his fundraisers, with an eye towards doing fan films and for profit films. That would mean he's profiting off an IP that he doesn't own.
I do envy getting to do work on a ST fan production of any kind! That would be a ST dream come true for me. And not facetiously I add that were I to also be able to point to anything I had worked on in a ST fan production and say "See this/that! I did that myself!" it would be one of my own favorite ST memories!! It would, well actually it would thrill me. And volunteering your time and skills for any ST fan production you supported... to me that's just awesome on So Many Levels.As far as I’m aware they did not use public donations for the carpet.
They only used the profits they made from selling coffee.
Do you see those 4 carpet tiles over there in the far corner? I PAID FOR THEM!
Because of the litigation going on at this time, I personally would hesitate making statements about the coffee sales profit uses in public places since that coffee also carries its own possible litigation questions due to the labels having IP infringements; with the production profiting from IP infringement. There is no delineation I can find on the site indicating separation of donation funds from coffee profits. The site page says "Help us fund the Axanar full-length feature film by purchasing Axanar Coffee."
And absolutely I do remain envious and admiring of your volunteering on any ST fan film. And was a several time donor to this particular one in the past.
I don't know what that means.
In the eyes of the law it makes no difference. The fact that they are a "professional distributor" is what is irrelevant.
But here's another example: what would stop Bryan Singer from rounding up his friends, crew, producers, and VFX team, and using his considerable wealth to produce a 2-hour Hollywood quality feature film?
The fact that he's a professional is again, irrelevant.
While the comment is no doubt crass, Diana Kingsbury is a prominent member at Axanar. She has her own blog there and perhaps more damning, she's mentioned in the annual report.
Neil
I'd like to think that it's not necessary for us to be crass.
This thread ceased being anything other than a massive internet pile on ages ago, but this is in really poor taste.Fake Alec may not spell so good, but he is funny
in an Axanar interview podcast excerpt I made reference to upthread, Alec and his director said they are building a studio to make professional Trek and other SF and they are following union laws wrt/ paying union people specifically so they could have legal standing to sell their work back into companies like CBS.
in the indiegogo pitch, Axanar explicitly spoke of building a business which not only would produce films, but which would get into digital distribution:
Q: What is Axanar Productions?
Axanar is not just an independent Star Trek film; it is the beginning of a whole new way that fans can get the content they want, by funding it themselves. Why dump hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on 400 cable channels, when what you really want is a few good sci-fi shows? Hollywood is changing. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other providers are redefining content delivery, and AxanarProductions/Ares Studios hopes to be part of that movement.
in podcast, Axanar/Ares has been even more specific about their intent to build themselves out as a distribution business not just a production business.Axanar is not just an independent Star Trek film; it is the beginning of a whole new way that fans can get the content they want, by funding it themselves. Why dump hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on 400 cable channels, when what you really want is a few good sci-fi shows? Hollywood is changing. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other providers are redefining content delivery, and AxanarProductions/Ares Studios hopes to be part of that movement.
---
so, is the Netflix comparison really totally irrelevant, if one takes into account the STATED BUSINESS GOALS of the for profit firms Axanar Productions and Ares Studios?
Axanar Productions wants to be a distributor of movies/TV shows. Alec Peters even mentioned he'd like to start a Netflix like subscription service in one of the podcasts.
He also evidently wants a relationship with CBS where he could use their IP.
agree re personal attacks.
do think tho that as time goes by, it isn't just pile-on, but refinement of the accuracy and detail about what is going on with the for profit company built atop a fan-funded film thesis. this information and detail will make its way out into the world and help fans better assess the situation, I think.
It is.
Score one for the lawyers.
- Status