Paramount and CBS dropping lawsuit against Axanar!

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Alec Peters is off the hook

alec_peters.jpg



In the most unlikely of events, the lawsuit from Paramount against Axanar is "going away":

http://io9.gizmodo.com/paramounts-lawsuit-against-axanar-productions-star-trek-1777959978

Excerpt from article:

At last night’s Star Trek fan event, the latest trailer for Star Trek Beyondwasn’t the only newsworthy event: J.J. Abrams announced that Paramount Pictures’ lawsuit against Axanar Productions was “going away.”

io9 was at the fan event, where Abrams noted that Star Trek Beyond’s director, Justin Lin, was outraged at the legal situation that had arisen:

“A few months back there was a fan film, Axonar, that was getting made and there was this lawsuit that happened between the studio and these fans and Justin, I’ll tell the story because he probably wouldn’t, was sort of outraged by this as a long time fan. We started talking about it and realized this was not an appropriate way to deal with the fans.

The fans should be celebrating this thing. Fans of Star Trek are part of this world. So he went to the studio and pushed them to stop this lawsuit and now, within the next few weeks, it will be announced this is going away, and that fans would be able to continue working on their project”

The fan film has been embroiled in legal issues since December when CBS sued it for “direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement.” In April, the Language Creation Society filed an amicus brief in the case, making the argument that the Klingon language isn’t copyrightable.


The reversal of fortunes is good news for Axanar, and for other Star Trek fan productions. “What it means for us is we can breathe again,” Jim Bray, the creator of Star Trek Anthology, noted. “We’ve been holding our breaths waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to all the other films.”

Justin Lin was vocal about this. I still think Alec Peters is an arrogant twit, but this means that Axanar will be produced after all, and fans will be able to make their own films again. JJ Abrams also had something to do with this, from what I understand.

YAY!
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Makes one wonder what the behind the scenes component was on this? They probably had to sever Ares Studios or in some other way establish that all the raised monies are going to Star Trek stuff.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Makes one wonder what the behind the scenes component was on this? They probably had to sever Ares Studios or in some other way establish that all the raised monies are going to Star Trek stuff.

The article mentions that "fan production guidelines" will be produced, with all previously produced works being grandfathered in as it were. JJ Abrams is the one that made the announcement, and it was probably Justin Lin (who is a Trek fan) who made him realize that it was us fans who made Star Trek into a thing that could be franchised in the first place. Also, the sour grapes they have mashed over the past year have not created any love for JJ's films. Perhaps he thinks they will abandon his Trek films because of that? He may not realize that the real reason is because they suck. :)
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Alec Peters is off the hook

View attachment 32925


In the most unlikely of events, the lawsuit from Paramount against Axanar is "going away":

http://io9.gizmodo.com/paramounts-lawsuit-against-axanar-productions-star-trek-1777959978

Excerpt from article:



Justin Lin was vocal about this. I still think Alec Peters is an arrogant twit, but this means that Axanar will be produced after all, and fans will be able to make their own films again. JJ Abrams also had something to do with this, from what I understand.

YAY!

It's because of the klingon thing and because it would damage the new star trek franchise too. However, I am still going to watch axanar. looks pretty badass.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
The article mentions that "fan production guidelines" will be produced, with all previously produced works being grandfathered in as it were. JJ Abrams is the one that made the announcement, and it was probably Justin Lin (who is a Trek fan) who made him realize that it was us fans who made Star Trek into a thing that could be franchised in the first place. Also, the sour grapes they have mashed over the past year have not created any love for JJ's films. Perhaps he thinks they will abandon his Trek films because of that? He may not realize that the real reason is because they suck. :)

I was wondering how they were going to deal with the legal precedent that dropping this case would bring (allowing non-sanctioned ST productions to make money), but now it makes sense. Overall it is a good thing to allow fans to participate in the story as long as it doesn't get out of control. Wouldn't it be funny though if a fan film established something within canon? Now that I'd like to see. :icon_lol:
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I was wondering how they were going to deal with the legal precedent that dropping this case would bring (allowing non-sanctioned ST productions to make money), but now it makes sense. Overall it is a good thing to allow fans to participate in the story as long as it doesn't get out of control. Wouldn't it be funny though if a fan film established something within canon? Now that I'd like to see. :icon_lol:

Well, it was fans who guided the scientific canon and many of the operational rules of all the other Trek stuff, and when Enterprise tried to ignore the fans they revolted and stopped watching the show. I have since rewatched the entire series, and it is actually pretty good! I don't like the Xindi arc, and the Suliban were lame to me. Also, they got T'Pol all wrong.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Well, it was fans who guided the scientific canon and many of the operational rules of all the other Trek stuff, and when Enterprise tried to ignore the fans they revolted and stopped watching the show. I have since rewatched the entire series, and it is actually pretty good! I don't like the Xindi arc, and the Suliban were lame to me. Also, they got T'Pol all wrong.

So ... more boob?
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
So ... more boob?

The ONLY real mistake they made with T'Pol was making her Vulcan. They probably figured they needed a Vulcan because they were following the TOS ensemble formula:

Tripp = Scotty
Dr Phlox = McCoy
Hoshi = Uhura
Malcolm = Checkov
Travis = Sulu
T'Pol = Spock
Archer = Kirk

The slots were all filled, but I think they were miscast.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay, here are the new Fan Film Guidelines (draft) from Paramount. The wording seems specifically tailored to stem what Axanar was doing which was not cool:

http://www.treknews.net/2016/05/28/axanar-lawsuit-update-proposed-fan-film-guidelines/

Proposed Star Trek Fan Film Guidelines

  1. There must be the following disclaimer at the end of each episode and in all promotional and marketing materials, on all fan production websites:
    Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan made film intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted.
  2. Fan productions may not sell, or give away as perks, any item with a Star Trek mark, logos or character, including, but not limited to, the words “Star Trek,” the Enterprise insignia chevron, images of the U.S.S. Enterprise, or any Star Trek trademark.
  3. Fan Productions may not use Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any other commercial crowdfunding platform to raise money.
  4. Fan productions may take donations, but all donations must go to the production of the fan film and may not be used to pay any of the principals.
  5. Fan Productions may pay professional cast and crew for their time working on the production.
  6. If a production uses a SAG member, it must become a SAG New Media Signatory.
  7. Finished fan films may be no longer than 50 minutes in length, the approximate duration of TOS episodes.
  8. Fan film makers give to CBS an unlimited, unrestricted license to use their films, or any portion thereof, in any format CBS should deem appropriate.
From what I can see, these guidelines leave all the other fan made productions exactly where they have been in legal terms, and they have effectively killed any "feature-length" productions. It also eliminates the use of GoFundMe or Indiegogo or Kickstarter. This already impacts Axanar, since they were shooting for a feature length movie.
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Agreed. Numbers 3 and 4 are aimed directly at Axanar. Also note in #1 commercial exhibition and distribution are prohibited. It has to in essence be free to view.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
There you go using that wily Canadian logic again. ;) :P

Hey, you know we are a resourceful people. It takes real ingenuity to turn this:

canada_igloo.jpg


... into this:

635940965296604527628734959_toronto-3.jpg


... all while keeping the entire country's pollution index to a fraction of just one of your busy villages. :icon_lol:
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
Hey, you know we are a resourceful people. It takes real ingenuity to turn this:



... into this:

... all while keeping the entire country's pollution index to a fraction of just one of your busy villages. :icon_lol:

Funny how you didn't use Montreal as an example. :ronnon_whistling:
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Funny how you didn't use Montreal as an example. :ronnon_whistling:

I will NEVER use Montreal as an example. Quebec is the Texas of Canada. Rampant stupidity and kings of corruption. If I woke tomorrow morning and saw that Quebec fell into the ocean, I would go about my day as if nothing happened.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Hey, you know we are a resourceful people. It takes real ingenuity to turn this:

canada_igloo.jpg


... into this:

635940965296604527628734959_toronto-3.jpg


... all while keeping the entire country's pollution index to a fraction of just one of your busy villages. :icon_lol:

OMG, is that real? Is that how Toronto looks now??? In 10 years, it appears to have doubled in size in terms of tall buildings.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
OMG, is that real? Is that how Toronto looks now??? In 10 years, it appears to have doubled in size in terms of tall buildings.

The Greater Toronto Area has grown quite a bit in the last 10 years. Best of all, it's so damned clean and safe and cosmopolitan.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
Okay, here are the new Fan Film Guidelines (draft) from Paramount. The wording seems specifically tailored to stem what Axanar was doing which was not cool:

http://www.treknews.net/2016/05/28/axanar-lawsuit-update-proposed-fan-film-guidelines/

Proposed Star Trek Fan Film Guidelines

  1. There must be the following disclaimer at the end of each episode and in all promotional and marketing materials, on all fan production websites:
    Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan made film intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted.
  2. Fan productions may not sell, or give away as perks, any item with a Star Trek mark, logos or character, including, but not limited to, the words “Star Trek,” the Enterprise insignia chevron, images of the U.S.S. Enterprise, or any Star Trek trademark.
  3. Fan Productions may not use Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any other commercial crowdfunding platform to raise money.
  4. Fan productions may take donations, but all donations must go to the production of the fan film and may not be used to pay any of the principals.
  5. Fan Productions may pay professional cast and crew for their time working on the production.
  6. If a production uses a SAG member, it must become a SAG New Media Signatory.
  7. Finished fan films may be no longer than 50 minutes in length, the approximate duration of TOS episodes.
  8. Fan film makers give to CBS an unlimited, unrestricted license to use their films, or any portion thereof, in any format CBS should deem appropriate.
From what I can see, these guidelines leave all the other fan made productions exactly where they have been in legal terms, and they have effectively killed any "feature-length" productions. It also eliminates the use of GoFundMe or Indiegogo or Kickstarter. This already impacts Axanar, since they were shooting for a feature length movie.

I don't have a problem with this list of requirements. It makes perfect sense from a legal standpoint. And it still allows for fans to participate in the ST-verse.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I don't have a problem with this list of requirements. It makes perfect sense from a legal standpoint. And it still allows for fans to participate in the ST-verse.

I almost missed this one:

  1. If a production uses a SAG member, it must become a SAG New Media Signatory.
All the actors who appeared in Axanar who had been in DS9 or Voyager or TNG are SAG. They are going to have to re-write it or go through the gauntlet which is pretty much designed to sift the little guys out:

SAG New Media Signatory

https://www.sagaftra.org/production-center/newmediasignatoryinstructions
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
I almost missed this one:

  1. If a production uses a SAG member, it must become a SAG New Media Signatory.
All the actors who appeared in Axanar who had been in DS9 or Voyager or TNG are SAG. They are going to have to re-write it or go through the gauntlet which is pretty much designed to sift the little guys out:

SAG New Media Signatory

https://www.sagaftra.org/production-center/newmediasignatoryinstructions

Right, but if you're using SAG actors you're pretty much no longer a "little guy".
 
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