CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

We aren't going to co-ordinate a response... Now here is what to say.

 

Back before I realized Peters is a scam artist, I saw Prelude, though "OK, cool, I'll give them some money." Was turned off after they said they needed over $1 million in addition to the Kickstarter amount which was already more than they had claimed the entire Axanar production budget would have been.

Anyway, all this has made me wonder. I unsubscribed from their backers list after what seemed like the 500th email saying "We'll send out perks soon once we figure out this Backerkit system, don't worry!" Does anyone know if they even sent out those patches and other junk they were selling or did they just pocket everything?

 

And these are the guys that will be representing Trek fans, making headlines in all the articles.
And people wonder why Trek still has a stigma attached even after 2 successful JJ movies.

 

There's a photo online of them sending out patches, so it seems they did. I don't think that's why Paramount/CBS ate upset about.

 

Fuck that "One True Fan" bullshit.

If I set up a Kickstarter to help pay CBS's legal fees, who's in?

 

I would guess that, like me, this person has an unrelated bug up his ass about endless corporate copyright. It's really beside the point in this case, but I can't blame him for the situation bringing to mind a pet peeve.

The entire point of copyright (and patents) is to encourage creative works by giving creators an unnatural monopoly over the production of copies of their work, so they have a chance to make money off it before it's bootlegged or rewritten by Shakespeare or whatever people used to do when copyrights expired. I would imagine the number of people who don't think writing a book or making a movie would be worth the trouble if they didn't get to be the only person to profit off it for the rest of their life plus 70 years is vanishingly small. Hell, with so many creative fields being work-for-hire, the only time many people make money off their works is while they're making it, and it's the corporate entities which engage their services who enjoy the protections of copyright. If Alec Peters ripped off his mask and revealed he's been zombie Gene Roddenberry all along, he'd still be in exactly the same amount of legal shit.

Luckily, very few people in this thread have been making a moral defense of CBS's copyright claim, though I've seen a few that try and pull the "How would you like it if CBS took something you made and profited off it without giving you a cut" card, which is total nonsense. No one behind this lawsuit had jack to do with "creating" any significant element of Star Trek as we know it, and they only own it for business reasons that are totally separate from any notions of creators' rights. The whole thing is similar to the patent lawsuits that have been preoccupying the tech sector for the past several years.

It's nearly New Years, which means someone will probably be assembling a fresh list of things that would've gone into the public domain by now if the last retroactive copyright extension hadn't been passed. It's interesting reading. Here's one from 2014. http://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2014/pre-1976

 

The cover photo on the Axanar FB page is a manipulated photo placing the Axanar symbol (which could be argued contains some copyrighted elements) on the shields of Spartan warriors as depicted in the film 300. The hashtag is #standwithAxanar

So they are using someone else's intellectual property to defend their right to use someone else's property.

 

You have my sword.

 

I'm no fan of the JJ Trek movies so I'm going to sit out Beyond. But, do you now what irks me most about these boycott ST people? You know that 95% of them will still be there for Beyond on opening day, even if they hate it.

 

Do I get a t-shirt that says "Boycott Alec Peters"?

 

And MY hashtags!

 

I'll give you a pound of Starbu...I mean... Les Brewnvies Coffee!

 

So is all of Axanar's merchandise separate from the supporter rewards like what Renegades is giving people?

That's ridiculous, they went into this knowing that Star Trek was owned by CBS, so they really should have been more careful. It sounds to me like they just crossed a line here that CBS didn't like. If you're playing in somebody else's universe you have to follow their rules. There have been a lot issues with copyright law and creators rights coming up recently, but I really don't see this being one of them.

 

Oh, I agree. I'm just thinking that's separate from this lawsuit.

I'd be willing to bet if/when CBS finds out about the coffee, they'd probably reach out to the coffee seller and tell them to remove all of the names/images related to Trek...and if the coffee guy is defiant, threaten him with legal action, then he'd likely take it down if it gets that far.

I doubt this coffee seller, and most people for that matter, have the foolish gall that the Axanar leadership has to stand in defiance against a major television network all the way to court.

If Peters'/Burnett's current attitudes are any indication, I'm convinced that's the only reason this lawsuit is taking place - Axanar has been beyond uncooperative. They've been outright defiant.

 

I want a T-shirt that says "This is what you get when you poke CBS in the eye"
It'll have an image of Alec w/ a sharp stick poking the CBS eye logo...
Under that in big red letters "LOL-suit"
;-)

 

Someone set it up! I'll be in for $50




..... Wait a minute is this a scam to set up a studio?

 

ok im not going to read back any further than this, but what happened?

ok so 1) CBS started to sue a fan film, well I say boo because I like the fan films, and I believe there is space for both official Trek and fan films, the new timeline helps with this no end. That said fan films producers should (and im sure sure do) know where they stand legally, with regards to use of copyright, im thinking Continues would struggle to copyright even Mckenna, given she spends all of her time either in clothing CBS owns the copyright to, or on a ship CBS owns the copyright to, interacting with characters CBS owns the copyright to.

2) Axanar, a Fanfilm I admit am not overly fimilar with, seem to have totally thrown their toys out of their pram, or should that be thrown CBS toys out of the pram. I dont see what legal ground they think they have to stand on, and are only making it worse for other Fanfilms.

3) Crowd funding, talking of making things worse for other fan films, crowd sourcing has always been an unknown legal loophole for many firms, outside of fan films. If this things crashes and burns, alot of people will be put off donating.

 

If you have an objection to the way copyright/trademark/patent or IP laws are handled, feel free to lobby congress or join a group that's attempting to lobby congress in modifying said laws.
At the end of the day, the "moral" argument is extremely vague, and if your definition of "moral" is different than mine, who's version wins?
In this case, the right's holder exercised their lawful right to take legal action against someone they believed to be infringing on their intellectual property. "Axanar" has no more "moral" right to be produced than CBS has the "moral" right to sue.
I thought Prelude was a good short, I was hoping that the full Axanar movie would be a hit, and unfortunately the creators have gone off the deep end.

 

So this is where we're at today: fans asserting their moral right to steal someone else's property in the name of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of a better human future.

You know what? I love my Mustang, but I've got a hankering for the 911 that's parked out on the street beside my building five days a week.

I can't touch the price on it, but I'm pretty sure that Gene Roddenberry would want me to have that sucker. So...