CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

[OpenMaw]

Wait, CBS couldn't tell Axanar what to do? That doesn't make sense...

Something like that.....
More drama than a Mediterranian vendetta!

It's all very sad, but entirely predicatable behaviour. We all know CBS simply can't be trusted.

Yeah. Those evil bastards, letting fans produce content freely for over a decade with almost no meddling at all.

How dare they stand in the way of a man who was simply trying to use fan money to build his own little empire off the backs of a franchise that he has no legal rights to.

Sarcasm aside. - Come on, and where do you think this other person got their information from? Alec Peters, most likely. Alec Peters word alone cannot be trusted in this situation.

 

[Mudd]

Of course Axanar was going to be 100 times better than the shit Paramount was going to force feed the fans on Trek's 50th, and Paramount and CBS new this, so they've put a stop to it.


It's all very sad, but entirely predicatable behaviour. We all know CBS simply can't be trusted.

Yeah...bullshit.

Here's what CBS reps actually told a journalist back in August about what they communicated to the Axanar group:

“CBS has not authorized, sanctioned or licensed this project in any way, and this has been communicated to those involved,” a representative from the network told The Wrap. “We continue to object to professional commercial ventures trading off our property rights and are considering further options to protect these rights.”

People can sulk and make any petulant claims they like because they're not getting what they think they're entitled to - as so many on Facebook are - but they don't get their own alternative set of facts.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Wait, CBS couldn't tell Axanar what to do? That doesn't make sense...

Fan films have, and continue to exist in a legal grey area. As long as fan films didn't profit the producers, they have looked the other direction. But technically, they were still a no no.

If CBS implies that a fan film can do certain things then they put their IP at risk, and they don't want to do that.

But I do think the days of Crowdfunded fan films is over.

 

[Jedman67]

Does anyone know what the salaries listed for Alec Peters and Diane Kingsbury in their annual report were?

Somebody mentioned a figure of 38k USD

That's not a lot of money in a high cost of living area like LA. OTOH, taking money as a personal salary from donations strikes me as a dick move. I'm sure they could justify it, but I don't think a judge will be sympathetic.

The day started with finding out that we were being sued by CBS! By now you all know about this, but I found out by reading Facebook. Yep, CBS filed papers the Christmas/New Year holiday week.
....
A lot of fans expressed their support today and to all of you, THANK YOU. It means a lot to us. But don't worry, we have a great attitude and I was on the phone with one of the top Intellectual Property law firms in the US today discussing taking on Axanar Productions on a pro-bono basis. I can say they were quite interested in representing us as they knew about the law suit and had already decided that this was going to be a very high profile case that could shape intellectual property law for the entertainment industry.

Nothing has changed here at Axanar. We are moving forward!

Stay tuned...

Alec Peters

Executive Producer

(From the blog)

 

[JoeZhang]

Soval (a recent real character...

.

Named characters in the lawsuit:

The Axanar Works are substantially similar to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, including but not limited to the similarities set forth below. The Axanar Works’ story centers around a character from The Original Series named Garth of Izar. In The Original Series as well as in the Axanar Works, Garth is Captain Kirk’s hero and prevailed in the Battle of Axanar.

The Axanar Works use many of the other characters found in the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, including:


a. Captain Robert April. In one of the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, April was a commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise when it was launched in 2245 for its initial five-year mission. In the Axanar Works, April is the “Captain of the USS Enterprise during its shakedown. One of Starfleet’s most respected officers. A close friend of Garth’s and his mentor.”

b. Soval. In the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, Soval is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. In the Axanar Works, Soval is “Vulcan Ambassador to the Federation. Vulcan’s most senior diplomat. A friend of Earth since before the founding of the Federation.”

c. Sarek. In the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, Sarek is a legendary Vulcan Ambassador for the Federation. In the Axanar Works, Sarek is “Deputy Ambassador [.] Soval’s aide. Soval has been grooming Sarek to take over for him as Federation Ambassador.”

d. Richard Robau. In the Star Trek Copyrighted Works, Robau is the Starfleet captain of the U.S.S. Kelvin. He is intelligent and curious yet cautious. In the Axanar Works, Robau is “Captain, USS Hornet, Commanding 3rd Squadron[.] The former captain of the Kelvin. 12 years later Robau is one of the most respected captain’s [sic] in Starfleet. A friend of Garth’s.”

 

[Karzak]

Jesus Christ. The guy is in complete denial.

It's amazing seeing Peters and Burnett, relishing how they are finally making it into more reputable news sources like the trades, Entertainment Weekly, etc, and all it's doing is egging on the Axanerds. They're in for a big surprise...

 

[JoeZhang]

Except, that this past August, Peters, on the Axanar website released a statement, that CBS Specifically stated that they COULD NOT tell Axanar what they could, and could not do.

And we take this statement on face value because...?????

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Didn't Soval resign/lose his job as Ambassador?

I'm annoying some people on the fan page by going #IStandWithCBS

 

[Mudd]

Does anyone know what the salaries listed for Alec Peters and Diane Kingsbury in their annual report were?

Somebody mentioned a figure of 38k USD

If true, those would be very modest salaries. Axanar was making no one wealthy.

These people were upfront about the fact that people who worked on the production were being paid. Did anyone seriously read this as "excepting the guy in charge?"

 

[Karzak]

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets from yesterday.

 

[SalvorHardin]

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets.

Sadly for him, once something is on the internet even for a few seconds, you can't ever really make it disappear.

 

[JoeZhang]

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets.

Thankfully when you delete stuff on the internet it's gone forever and there is no way to get it back.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Does anyone know what the salaries listed for Alec Peters and Diane Kingsbury in their annual report were?

Somebody mentioned a figure of 38k USD

That's not a lot of money in a high cost of living area like LA. OTOH, taking money as a personal salary from donations strikes me as a dick move. I'm sure they could justify it, but I don't think a judge will be sympathetic.

It isn't the amount of the money in question... Its that the principle producer of this film took a salary period. He personally profited off of CBS IP. I am not going to discuss the red herrings of the amount of the money or the amount of work he put into the production...

But if you're gonna produce non-profit fan films, then individually you can't profit off of them, and he did.

And that's why Axanar is different than STC or Phase 2/NV, or Renegades. As the producer he drew a salary, and the producers of those productions don't.

 

[Danlav05]

I know Peters amnd Bennett have conveyed optimism online but I fear this is only going to get worse.

It will hit the fan hard, and that's so sad after all that hard work

 

[Campe]

Jesus Christ. The guy is in complete denial.

It's amazing seeing Peters and Burnett, relishing how they are finally making it into more reputable news sources like the trades, Entertainment Weekly, etc, and all it's doing is egging on the Axanerds. They're in for a big surprise...

I am utterly baffled as to what legal leg they think they have to stand on. I mean, it amazes me how nonchalantly they are taking this. Peters taking a picture of being served. Burnett tweeting in a way to bite the hand that fed him for awhile. The whole group going out for sushi like nothing happened.

W.T. Fuck?

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Except, that this past August, Peters, on the Axanar website released a statement, that CBS Specifically stated that they COULD NOT tell Axanar what they could, and could not do.

And we take this statement on face value because...?????

Because from a legal perspective it makes sense. If CBS gave direction to someone who isn't licensed to use their IP, ont HOW to use their IP, it opens CBS up to other parties claiming they abandoned their IP, putting their claim on Star Trek in Jeopardy....

 

[Karzak]

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets.

Sadly for him, once something is on the internet even for a few seconds, you can't ever really make it disappear.

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets.

Thankfully when you delete stuff on the internet it's gone forever and there is no way to get it back.

 

[Trekkin]

Pro Bono? Unless this supposed top lawyer is simply offering reduced fees or a payment plan, I call bullshit. There is no fucking way anyone would take this sort of case for free.

EDIT: Actually, that's not completely true. You can go to a law school open day, where the final year law students can give you one advice session.

 

[Jedman67]

And, just as I predicted yesterday, Burnett has deleted all his reactionary, incendiary Tweets from yesterday.

https://twitter.com/BurnettRM/status/682306519707299840

still there

 

[Mudd]

I know Peters amnd Bennett have conveyed optimism online but I fear this is only going to get worse.

It will hit the fan hard, and that's so sad after all that hard work

It is. Lots of people were putting a great deal of creativity into making this movie a quality effort. Looking at all the stuff being designed and built and shown off on their website is sad.

That said, you just can't do what they were doing. The word hubris has come up a lot in these discussions, and it sums up the situation far more aptly than accusations of avarice.

I expect the folks running this will continue to maintain an optimistic public face until the moment the injunction hits and they have to take everything down.