CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

[Maurice]

Axanar is never going to win on the Copyright front. And on the Trademark front their claims are weak weak weak. They are claiming "failure to police". Here's an example of a major brandname in such a situation...

Is Axanar actually saying they plan to raise a trademark defense? Because if they are, then they haven't read the lawsuit. CBS and Paramount did not raise a single trademark claim. This is purely a copyright lawsuit. The trademarks are irrelevant (he says in Borg monotone).

Sorry, I was a tad ambiguous in my pronouns in the post, I edited to make clear the distinctions between Axanar proper and fan arguments.

No idea what they plan, but some people keep claiming "abandonment" as a possible defense for fanfilms, so I figured it was time to clear the air about what that means.

 

[Iamnotspock]

In case anyone wants to know what the face of denial coupled with a complete break from reality look like, here you go:

Law suit? What law suit?

The one you're going to lose.

 

[oswriter]

(On a side note, I laughed when the complaint cited April, a character who only appeared in TAS; I guess the Animated Series is back in the canon now. Hooray!)

Even if it's just a side note; I gotta ask: What has TAS' canon status to do with CBS being the legal copyright holder of the animated series?

Nothing at all. I was just tickled as an old TAS fan. "Canon" itself has nothing to do with copyright.

 

[jespah]

It's funny, oswriter - we learned about verbal contracts, meeting of the minds, quasi-contracts, etc. in Contracts but the truth you learn from practicing is that all of that is so hard to prove, you're really giving yourself an uphill slog. And for no good reason! Just write stuff down, get everybody to sign it and boom! You are a lot more likely (there are always exceptions) to get your agreement declared a valid bilateral enforceable contract between two competent parties in agreement.

 

[jespah]

Egad, I have talked law more in the past 48 hours than I have in the last 2 decades.

 

[oswriter]

So Mr. Peters might think he has leverage to make them want to avoid actually going before a Judge; and thus will somehow get CBS/Paramount to settle out of court (which is what happens in 90%+ of civil cases); and get a settlement that allows his group to complete Axanar in some fashion.

If that's what Peters thinks, he needs a mental health examination, stat.

The only reason CBS would settle on terms like that would be if they thought they would lose. But they're the ones who filed this lawsuit. They want to go in front of a judge and jury. Remember, the legal complaint asks for a jury trial. They expect to win.

A settlement instigated by CBS would be a defensive maneuver, but they have no reason to be defensive. They're in the driver's seat here, not Peters and Axanar.

One thing to keep in mind is that the "demand for a jury trial" is largely superfluous. This case will be decided when CBS and Paramount move for a preliminary injunction to halt production of Axanar. If and when that happens, the lawsuit is effectively over. The only thing left will be to negotiate any damages.

 

[Woulfe]

Let's set the wayback to the very first Star Trek convention.

Volunteer : Excuse me, are you with Star trek ?

Gene : I AM STAR TREK...

Majel : It's his way...

So if we go by things said verbaly...

;-)

 

[Smoked Salmon]

I blog professionally for a number of law firms. I've reviewed hundreds of breach of contract cases, and I honestly cannot recall the last time I saw an oral contract upheld by a court anywhere in the United States. I mean, I know it happens, but it's not an everyday occurrence.

An oral contract would rely on witness evidence and thereafter be judged favourably on the balance of probabilities. Not an easy feat with something so explicit.

 

[Timby]

Honestly, Burnett's tantrums over this have been the saddest thing. I have always enjoyed the work he's done producing DVD and Blu-ray materials for both Trek and other movies, but he needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop acting like he's some master artist and is being wronged, considering his most recent work is directing softcore porn.

 

[oswriter]

Axanar is never going to win on the Copyright front. And on the Trademark front their claims are weak weak weak. They are claiming "failure to police". Here's an example of a major brandname in such a situation...

Is Axanar actually saying they plan to raise a trademark defense? Because if they are, then they haven't read the lawsuit. CBS and Paramount did not raise a single trademark claim. This is purely a copyright lawsuit. The trademarks are irrelevant (he says in Borg monotone).

Sorry, I was a tad ambiguous in my pronouns in the post, I edited to make clear the distinctions between Axanar proper and fan arguments.

No idea what they plan, but some people keep claiming "abandonment" as a possible defense for fanfilms, so I figured it was time to clear the air about what that means.

Ah, gotcha. Having done a lot of IP writing, I realize most folks do not appreciate the distinction between copyright and trademarks.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

So Mr. Peters might think he has leverage to make them want to avoid actually going before a Judge; and thus will somehow get CBS/Paramount to settle out of court (which is what happens in 90%+ of civil cases); and get a settlement that allows his group to complete Axanar in some fashion.

If that's what Peters thinks, he needs a mental health examination, stat.

The only reason CBS would settle on terms like that would be if they thought they would lose. But they're the ones who filed this lawsuit. They want to go in front of a judge and jury. Remember, the legal complaint asks for a jury trial. They expect to win.

A settlement instigated by CBS would be a defensive maneuver, but they have no reason to be defensive. They're in the driver's seat here, not Peters and Axanar.

One thing to keep in mind is that the "demand for a jury trial" is largely superfluous. This case will be decided when CBS and Paramount move for a preliminary injunction to halt production of Axanar. If and when that happens, the lawsuit is effectively over. The only thing left will be to negotiate any damages.

Not entirely true. An injunction is a preventative measure, it doesn't mean a case has been won.

 

[oswriter]

An oral contract would rely on witness evidence and thereafter be judged favourably on the balance of probabilities. Not an easy feat with something so explicit.

Yeah, I don't see how that could possible work here. Even in cases where there's supplemental evidence--such as emails between the parties--judges are not inclined to go looking for a contract where both sides do not expressly state their intentions.

Remember, folks, there's a reason you need "express written consent" to tape a Major League Baseball game.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

You know, if we add a single letter to Star Trek 8, it might be Alec's favourite film

Star Trek: First Contract

 

[jespah]

Psst oswriter how do I subscribe to your blog? I don't see an option on your site, thanks.

(sorry for the OT but I don't believe oswriter is accepting PMs)

 

[oswriter]

If that's what Peters thinks, he needs a mental health examination, stat.

The only reason CBS would settle on terms like that would be if they thought they would lose. But they're the ones who filed this lawsuit. They want to go in front of a judge and jury. Remember, the legal complaint asks for a jury trial. They expect to win.

A settlement instigated by CBS would be a defensive maneuver, but they have no reason to be defensive. They're in the driver's seat here, not Peters and Axanar.

One thing to keep in mind is that the "demand for a jury trial" is largely superfluous. This case will be decided when CBS and Paramount move for a preliminary injunction to halt production of Axanar. If and when that happens, the lawsuit is effectively over. The only thing left will be to negotiate any damages.

Not entirely true. An injunction is a preventative measure, it doesn't mean a case has been won.

But as a practical matter, Axanar Productions will be a dead letter. Peters won't be able to raise money, except perhaps to pay his legal bills, and most of his staff and volunteers will quickly desert him. Remember, Paramount and CBS named a bunch of "JOHN DOES" in the complaint. That includes just about anyone involved in the design and construction of Ares Studios. I don't think those people are going to stick around and risk their own necks.

 

[Karzak]

Honestly, Burnett's tantrums over this have been the saddest thing. I have always enjoyed the work he's done producing DVD and Blu-ray materials for both Trek and other movies, but he needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop acting like he's some master artist and is being wronged, considering his most recent work is directing softcore porn.

Burnett directed softcore? I thought that was Cash Markman (otherwise known as Marc Cushman)?

 

[Michael]

Honestly, Burnett's tantrums over this have been the saddest thing. I have always enjoyed the work he's done producing DVD and Blu-ray materials for both Trek and other movies, but he needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop acting like he's some master artist and is being wronged, considering his most recent work is directing softcore porn.

Yeah, you are right. I barely knew who Alec Peters was before all this, but seeing Burnett reduced to a moping child is sad. I, too, loved his bonus features for the blu-rays. (Although I must admit, what I hated about his films was the weird choice of intercutting the interviews with oftentimes completely unrelated scenes from the episodes).

 

[Smoked Salmon]

One thing to keep in mind is that the "demand for a jury trial" is largely superfluous. This case will be decided when CBS and Paramount move for a preliminary injunction to halt production of Axanar. If and when that happens, the lawsuit is effectively over. The only thing left will be to negotiate any damages.

Not entirely true. An injunction is a preventative measure, it doesn't mean a case has been won.

But as a practical matter, Axanar Productions will be a dead letter. Peters won't be able to raise money, except perhaps to pay his legal bills, and most of his staff and volunteers will quickly desert him. Remember, Paramount and CBS named a bunch of "JOHN DOES" in the complaint. That includes just about anyone involved in the design and construction of Ares Studios. I don't think those people are going to stick around and risk their own necks.

Oh, I don't disagree. From that point of view I think that stage has realistically already been reached, injunction or not. It depends on whether or not Peters as the financial ability to see it through to trial and reinvent the project.

 

[Karzak]

Honestly, Burnett's tantrums over this have been the saddest thing. I have always enjoyed the work he's done producing DVD and Blu-ray materials for both Trek and other movies, but he needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop acting like he's some master artist and is being wronged, considering his most recent work is directing softcore porn.

Yeah, you are right. I barely knew who Alec Peters was before all this, but seeing Burnett reduced to a moping child is sad. I, too, loved his bonus features for the blu-rays. (Although I must admit, what I hated about his films was the weird choice of intercutting the interviews with oftentimes completely unrelated scenes from the episodes).

He's always been this way though, if you've followed his Twitter account over the last couple years --- he's very prone to these ridiculous outbursts, so while disappointing to see him let it seep into his "professional" (such as it is in this case) life, it's also not at all surprising.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

Burnett is a porno baron?????