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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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Smoked Salmon said:
Suffice it to say that if we are sitting here a year from now and there's still a Star Trek project called Axanar then the next time I am in court I will strip naked and slap my todger on the judge's bench.
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I will remember this. :p

Smoked Salmon said:
I gather from the recent interview that the gist of their defence will be that the studio hasn't come down on other productions so I presume they will argue the studio has given some sort of implied licence for the use of the IP. Well, I can't speak for Californian authorities in that regard so it may be that the firm thinks they have a point of law on which to create authority and, so, from that point of view, the case could be worth it if it goes to trial and they set precedent through a win.
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A number of lawyers have stepped in and advised that ALL fan films are infringing; and Axanar stands out because it's attempting to profit financially from the use of the IP. CBS can point to the "donor store" and blurays as evidence that is attempting a commercial endeavor while "Continues" and "New Voyages" et al fall under fair use - unlicensed, no permission to anyone. And further, CBS can enforce its IP at will, they can go after whomoever they want to.
That proverbial snowballs chance; Alec ain't got it.

Campe98 said:
The second thing is: Alec really needs to stop utilizing "works" in his businesses.
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:lol:
 
Jay said:
The bridge looked cool because it's the Enterprise bridge basically?
Had they stopped at Prelude they'd have major kudos.

Has the script or story for Axanar ever leaked? Anyone know what it was for sure about?
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RMB offered to send me the script. I declined.
 
muCephi said:
so the owner of Ares will evict the owner of Propworx rather than make a concessionary repayment plan? They are the same person. or perhaps you meant propworx is covering for the studio rent? I thought the donations were doing that.
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I guess I'm looking at this as a business owner - how can I pay the rent on the space in case donations start drying up, or get shut down?

Well, Propworx can help pay, Ares Studios can help pay, studio rentals, film school, for profit movie making can all help too. Since Alec owns everything, everything can chip in to keep the lights on. If he can pull that off without breaking the law (either labor law violations or copyright violations) than giant kudos to him. Bravo!

That I can fully support. The donors will be pissed they never got the movie they wanted, but a lot of them will still support Ares Studios no matter what they do. But my guess is if he can't pay the rent from donor money then he will protect Propworx by moving it to cheaper digs and let Axanar Productions Inc declare bankruptcy.
 
Admiral Cain said:
This is why he has a serious "ticking clock" issue. Propworx will likely never be able to pay the rent for the studio space on it's own, so unless they can get Ares Digital or studio rentals or for profit making films up to speed very quickly, they will go tits up on the rent expense alone, not to mention utilities and insurance.
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And that's a big thing, actually, because the rent here is not just rent. It's triple-net rent. Which means he's not only responsible for rent, he's also responsible for real estate taxes, building insurance and maintenance. Those aren't cheap.
 
Michael Hinman said:
And that's a big thing, actually, because the rent here is not just rent. It's triple-net rent. Which means he's not only responsible for rent, he's also responsible for real estate taxes, building insurance and maintenance. Those aren't cheap.
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He has repeatedly said that he signed a three year lease on the building. If that is true, then he doesn't have to maintain the property or pay taxes. HOWEVER... he may have been able to negotiate a better deal by promising to put x amount of dollars into renovations OR there may be a limited maintenance clause on the lease. In any case he wouldn't be directly responsible for taxes.
 
Michael Hinman said:
And that's a big thing, actually, because the rent here is not just rent. It's triple-net rent. Which means he's not only responsible for rent, he's also responsible for real estate taxes, building insurance and maintenance. Those aren't cheap.
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The team was podcasting about the inadequacies of the current building's electrical capacity. They need to add 800 more amps at a potential cost of $30,000, and even then that might not be enough to power the studio lighting. They may also need to purchase a generator. California has expensive electric rates. I wonder what the electric bill is going to be, $3000 - $5000 per month?
 
Jedi_Master said:
He has repeatedly said that he signed a three year lease on the building. If that is true, then he doesn't have to maintain the property or pay taxes. HOWEVER... he may have been able to negotiate a better deal by promising to put x amount of dollars into renovations OR there may be a limited maintenance clause on the lease. In any case he wouldn't be directly responsible for taxes.
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Jedi ... when I researched the building stuff, I was able to pull up a listing provided by the real estate agents in charge that reported this as a triple-net deal. And that is typically what a triple-net is.
 
Michael Hinman said:
Jedi ... when I researched the building stuff, I was able to pull up a listing provided by the real estate agents in charge that reported this as a triple-net deal. And that is typically what a triple-net is.
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Seems like Mr. Peters isn't a very savvy businessman.
 
I'd have to have the physical address of the studio again to look it up. If someone wants to message me with it, I'll go back and find that listing to post here. :)
 
If it were me, I wouldn't put another dime into the Axanar bridge sets. There is a strong possibility the movie will never be made. I would allocate funds towards other studio infrastructure.
 
Michael Hinman said:
And that's a big thing, actually, because the rent here is not just rent. It's triple-net rent. Which means he's not only responsible for rent, he's also responsible for real estate taxes, building insurance and maintenance. Those aren't cheap.
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Shit. I didn't know that was triple-net. Taxes for the studio are $22,655.32 annually. In LA County, the taxes are paid on November 1 and Feb 1 and according to the LA County Tax assessor's office, they are current in their payments.

I guess I can now expect a lawsuit for publishing public records.
 
Admiral Cain said:
If it were me, I wouldn't put another dime into the Axanar bridge sets. There is a strong possibility the movie will never be made. I would allocate funds towards other studio infrastructure.
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Why? I'm sure that any settlement would stipulate Ares Studios has to be quit/not made use of (CBS/Paramount doesn't want to set an example that someone can get startup money on a for profit venture by illegally using the Star Trek IP); and if it goes to court, CBS/Paramount will make sure (through damages) that Mr. peters and Co. won't have the money to continue with Ares Studios.

Anyone believing Mr. Peters will have a usable studio when all is said and done will be sorely disappointed. There's no way CBS/Paramount will allow Mr. Peters to gain anything as a result of his wholly illegal use of the Star trek brand.
 
BillJ said:
The taxes are more than other fan films cost.
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And the other thing is even if hell freezes over and 'Axanar Productions' somehow got CBS/Paramount to grant them a license; at that point the 'Hollywood Machine' comes into play meaning it's Union rates (at minimum) for ALL involved. At that point $15K a day for Tony Todd will be the LOW END of what Mr. Peters will have to pay actors, grips, etc. to work on 'Axanar' and the cost would rise exponentially.
 
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