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Spoilers Strange New Worlds General Discussion Thread

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: it depends on what the contract was when it was commissioned. Odds are good it all legally belongs to them but there may be royalties associated with the original contract work that may impact use of it.

They may own the story material, but they wouldn’t be able to work on a screen adaptation of it until the contract is resolved.
 
So we all know Trek licensed material isn't considered canon but does it still legally belong to CBS? So for example if I were a greedy CBS executive during the writers strike right now and my latest plot to generate Trek scripts using ChatGPT resulted in gibberish, could I grab the Early Voyages comic book (a 90s comic book featuring Pike's adventures that was actually pretty good), copy and paste those into new scripts to carry the show for another season or more, and get away with it? Or rip off James Cawleys old New Voyages show?

Works generated by AI aren't legally permitted to be copyrighted.

It could still affect filming since no re-writes can occur, including on-set re-writes or post-production re-writes.

Also, it's my understanding that SAG's and the DGA's contracts are coming up for renewal soon. If the WGA strike hasn't happened been resolved by then, we could see them go on strike too.

SAG's contract expires in June.
 
Works generated by AI aren't legally permitted to be copyrighted.
Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
 
Works generated by AI aren't legally permitted to be copyrighted.
That may be so, but I did read an article where apparently studio execs legit asked in anticipation of this strike whether AI was ready to take up the writing slack from the strike. Yes, really. Kind of reminds me of those tv shows where the villain deploys their superweapon despite the scientists screaming, "It's not ready yet!"
They may own the story material, but they wouldn’t be able to work on a screen adaptation of it until the contract is resolved.
I think that's only for writers guild members and writers hoping to be in the guild and not be blacklisted in the future right? Is there any legal barrier for an executive who has no intention of ever joining the writer's guild just putting some sloppily copy pasted comic to screen script and telling a director and actors to shoot with it?
 
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That may be so, but I did read an article where apparently studio execs legit asked in anticipation of this strike whether AI was ready to take up the writing slack from the strike. Yes, really. Kind of reminds me of those tv shows where the villain deploys their superweapon despite the scientists screaming, "It's not ready yet!"

So get the AI to write the broad strokes, then get an intern to go over it and tidy it up. Or Goldsman.

It's fine, it can't possibly and hilariously go wrong at all.
 
So we all know Trek licensed material isn't considered canon but does it still legally belong to CBS?

It does legally belong to Paramount (formerly called CBS), yes.

So for example if I were a greedy CBS executive during the writers strike right now and my latest plot to generate Trek scripts using ChatGPT resulted in gibberish, could I grab the Early Voyages comic book (a 90s comic book featuring Pike's adventures that was actually pretty good), copy and paste those into new scripts to carry the show for another season or more, and get away with it? Or rip off James Cawleys old New Voyages show?

I think that's only for writers guild members and writers hoping to be in the guild and not be blacklisted in the future right? Is there any legal barrier for an executive who has no intention of ever joining the writer's guild just putting some sloppily copy pasted comic to screen script and telling a director and actors to shoot with it?

Hollywood is generally a union town. I might be mistaken but I'm under the impression that for most major scripted shows like Star Trek, there's a binding legal agreement that the production be a closed shop.

But even if it weren't, good luck finding anyone willing to work on such a production. Scabbing like that is a one-way ticket to being shunned in the industry.
 
I thought Starfleet v. Broht & Forrester conclusively settled that matter.
Actually, no. The judge just said it was part of a larger issue that would have to be settled at a later time, but for the short term granted the Doctor the rights to his own holonovel creations.
 
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Actually, no. The judge just said it was part of a larger issue that would have to be settled at a later time, but for the short term granted the Doctor the rights to his own holonovel creations.
It did settle that he can be included in the wider term "artist", granting him copyright even if the larger matter of whether he can be granted personhood wasn't settled. The definition must be wide enough to be applicable to all sentient AI, otherwise Broht would presumably just move for a mistrial because of the obvious preferential treatment towards a single claimant.
 
It's already filming, which likely means they're written all the scripts.
That's not necessarily true.
But considering the gap between Season 2 and Season 3 filming, it could be likely.

But for example, Andor Season 2 has been filming for a couple months but the final scripts weren't turned in until 2 days before the strike.
 
It's already filming, which likely means they're written all the scripts. The writers being on strike doesn't prevent completed scripts from being filmed.
Actually it wasn't due to start filming until May 15th. Unless they changed the schedule.

Also one thing it does do with respect to Scripts is that nothing in the script can be changed. Everything has to be said exactly as it is on the page, and nothing can be added or removed.
^^^
And the terrible thing about that situation is often times onset they will find a better or different way to say something; or say something that is more true to the character and more comfortable for the actor.

Personally, I hope they didn't change the schedule and filming had not started because I'd rather not mess with the creative Mojo they have across the board; and that includes the actors and the writers deciding to make last minute dialogue and other changes changes when they see something in the script isn't working the way they hoped.
 
There's a lot of controversy over whether or not WGA members can do showrunning/producing duties right now. The WGA has asserted that the so-called "A through H duties" are in fact a form of writing and that therefore members would be breaking the strike if they performed them, while the studios claim otherwise. I suspect that, good union members that they are, the producers of SNW will refuse to perform said duties and thus production of SNW S3 will be delayed.
 
There's a lot of controversy over whether or not WGA members can do showrunning/producing duties right now. The WGA has asserted that the so-called "A through H duties" are in fact a form of writing and that therefore members would be breaking the strike if they performed them, while the studios claim otherwise. I suspect that, good union members that they are, the producers of SNW will refuse to perform said duties and thus production of SNW S3 will be delayed.
It depends. Tony Gilroy over at Andor is still showrunning the show minus the writing.
 
Back during the 2007 strike, didn't they allow writers who were also producers or directors to still work as producer/directors as long as no writing was done at all? I think that was one of the factors in why Abrams, who is a member of the WGA could still direct Trek XI during the strike and why he was so insistent on adhering faithfully to the script as written, even to the point of keeping in the line which mistakenly described the Federation as an armada.

Granted this whole matter could be rendered moot if the actors and directors go on strike while the writers strike as still going on. At that point, the American TV and movie industry is effectively shut down completely anyway.
 
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