• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

STAR TREK: A TOUCH oF Greatness by John Erik Edge

timothy

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Nearly a hundred years after kirk prevented the kelvan from stealing the enterprise. they've returned to thier original mission of conquering the Milky Way Galaxy.

I was wondering if anyone has read this book yet it's $5.99 and has a lend me tag on it. also wondering if this part of the main line of star trek books or something else?
 
A quick Google search shows it's self-published fanfic, and doubtless a C&D notice will be in the offing...
 
Would that be legal if you offer it for free? Because there's another free Trek ebook that popped up on B&N a few months ago, and I've been debating saying something on here. On one hand I'd hate to bring legal trouble down on someone's head, but at the same time people should know better.
 
Would that be legal if you offer it for free?

How is a free eBook download any different to any fanfic? Or fanfilm download?

In the old days of hardcopy fiction fanzines, no profit was allowed to be made but money still actually changed hands, ie. postage, packaging, paper/printing costs. Paramount tolerated non profit fanzines. The only people I heard of getting "cease and desist" letters in the 70s-90s were fans who had their vanity press "novels" professionally bound, or those who attempted to replicate the look of a Pocket MMPB, or used the Star Trek logo.

CBS will no doubt leave the author alone, as long as he doesn't charge money for the eBook download. He probably shouldn't have "Star Trek" on the eCover, though.
 
Last edited:
Would that be legal if you offer it for free? Because there's another free Trek ebook that popped up on B&N a few months ago, and I've been debating saying something on here. On one hand I'd hate to bring legal trouble down on someone's head, but at the same time people should know better.

Probably should be OK in the Fanfic forum, I'd have thought... This Ege one too, to spare confusion between in and licensed books.
 
Maybe he'll be on the run selling them out of the back of his van like an illegal drug until he makes it to the border of Mexico and then just before dying at the hand of the Federales, someone at Paramount or CBS will decide he's the best person to start another series on tv and he'll finally get his artistic liscence to work in America in a big office on 57th street overlooking the park. Just a thought.
 
Would that be legal if you offer it for free?

How is a free eBook download any different to any fanfic? Or fanfilm download?

In the old days of hardcopy fiction fanzines, no profit was allowed to be made but money still actually changed hands, ie. postage, packaging, paper/printing costs. Paramount tolerated non profit fanzines. The only people I heard of getting "cease and desist" letters in the 70s-90s were fans who had their vanity press "novels" professionally bound, or those who attempted to replicate the look of a Pocket MMPB, or used the Star Trek logo.

CBS will no doubt leave the author alone, as long as he doesn't charge money for the eBook download. He probably shouldn't have "Star Trek" on the eCover, though.
I wasn't sure since these are popping right up on major sites, while a lot of the older stuff in the past has pretty much stayed under the radar. But then again, I guess if they can get away with things like New Voyages/Phase 2, and Of Gods and Men then this wouldn't be any different.
 
I wasn't sure since these are popping right up on major sites, while a lot of the older stuff in the past has pretty much stayed under the radar. But then again, I guess if they can get away with things like New Voyages/Phase 2, and Of Gods and Men then this wouldn't be any different.

The two ways to raise undue attention: using the "Star Trek" logos (even just using the title) and selling the product for $$$. To be able to do those things, you require an official license. But... Simon & Schuster currently has the exclusive license for ST fiction; IDW for comics.

Remember, back in the old days of "The Best of Trek" paperbacks, they didn't use "Star Trek" in huge letters, although "from the magazine for Star Trek fans" was part of the cover copy, they didn't carry fiction (except for parody), and any starship artwork on the cover was merely "inspired" by Starfleet vessels.

A few recent fan things have skirted rather close to the wind. "Of Gods and Men" was selling an 8" x 10" cast photograph, which came with a bonus copy of the actual production on DVD. And they did use "Star Trek" in their title. I'm surprised they got away with that.
 
If I were CBS Studios, I'd ask myself one question in regards to allowing the major online realtors to sell ST fan fiction in their eBook services:

Would I allow the major bookstore chains to give out free paperback-bound physical copies of ST fan fiction in their stores?

If the answer is no, then I'd go after B&N, Amazon, etc., to stop selling ST fanfiction through their eBook services. If fans want to make fan fiction, they should be the ones who have to distribute it, not mainstream booksellers.
 
The problem is that Amazon, B&N, etc. just have too large an inventory to keep careful track of everything offered for sale. It's not like they're willfully breaking the law by selling fanfiction; they just don't notice when people misuse their system like that until it's called to their attention.
 
Yeah, and B&N has their pub-it service which allows user to self publish e-books, and as far as I can tell there's no oversight over what people publish.
 
Hum.. I might write a fanfiction in which Kirk gets really scared, it can be called "A touch of cloth".
 
Hum.. I might write a fanfiction in which Kirk gets really scared, it can be called "A touch of cloth".

Or that Janeway idea you mentioned recently. :bolian:


I can see it now:


While on patrol, the Enterprise encountered a Klingon warship who tried to board the ship. The crew was worried, but Kirk was calm.

He turned to his yeoman, "Bring me my red shirt!"

The yeoman quickly got the Captain's red shirt, which the captain put on. Then he led his crew into battle against the Klingons. Although there were some casualties among the crew, the Klingons were defeated.

Later that day, the conn noted that there were two klingon vessels sending two boarding parties towards their ship. The crew was nervous, but the Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!" And once again the battle was on!

The Captain and his crew fought off the boarding parties, though this time more casualties occurred.

Weary from the battles, the men sat around in the rec room that night recounting the day's events when an ensign looked at the Captain and asked, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?"

The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, explained, "If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the blood, so you men will continue to fight unafraid." The men sat in silence. They were amazed at the courage of such a man.

As dawn came the next morning, the conn screamed that there were Klingon ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to the Captain, their leader, for his usual command.

The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, 'Bring me my brown trousers!!!'



(stolen and altered from here)
 
If the answer is no, then I'd go after B&N, Amazon, etc., to stop selling ST fanfiction through their eBook services. If fans want to make fan fiction, they should be the ones who have to distribute it, not mainstream booksellers.

Are they going to stop professional printing companies with offset printers, and public libraries with photocopiers, from printing fanzines that fans bring in?
 
Yeah, and B&N has their pub-it service which allows user to self publish e-books, and as far as I can tell there's no oversight over what people publish.

The terms of service for publishing on both Pub-It and Amazon KDP include you having to affirm that you have the rights to publish your work. After that, there's supposed to be a review period before the story/book goes on sale. Amazon had my books up in just a few hours. B&N took nearly a week.

All that said, how this story got up there is a bit beyond me.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top