Jonathan Lane

STARFLEET STUDIOS cancels THE TNG PROJECT but revs up for VOYAGER CONTINUES!

There’s some bad news and some good news for STARFLEET STUDIOS (based in Iowa–not to be confused with STARBASE STUDIOS, which is moving from Oklahoma City to Arkansas…more on that in an upcoming blog). The bad news has to do with their planned new fan film, THE TNG PROJECT (working title), which launched a Kickstarter in late October attempting to raise $11,000.

They ended up raising only 1% of that amount (the campaign finished with $131 total, which means it failed to fund and no money will be collected from supporters). Show-runner DAVID WHITNEY told me earlier this week:

Frankly I did not expect the TNG project to succeed. I did not do a great job for the videos. I had no cast interviews, and did not groom the fans. But I wanted to give TNG fans something.

One of the reasons for the lackluster effort came because, during the Kickstarter campaign, the main actor for the project, who was set to play Data, became unavailable as his acting career has begun to take off. So rather than pushing hard for donations for a project that was now lacking a main character, David Whitney simply let the campaign close, unfunded.

But not all is bad news in the universe of Starfleet Studios! David also told me the following:

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A closer look at the OPPOSITION BRIEFS in the AXANAR LAWSUIT (Part 3)

In Part 2, we started looking more deeply into the fascinating points made in the Defense Opposition to the PLAINTIFFS Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. In Part 1, we had looked into the Plaintiffs Opposition to the DEFENSE Motion for Summary Judgment.

Both documents are 20 pages long and intelligently written. However, there’s a lot more to cover in the defense brief, so I had to split that portion into two parts in order to cover everything properly. This isn’t to say one side or the other made better arguments–only that there’s more to go over with the defense.

So let’s jump right back in! First up: profits…

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A closer look at the OPPOSITION BRIEFS in the AXANAR LAWSUIT (Part 2)

Last time, we took a look at what the plaintiffs had to say in their Plaintiffs Opposition to the DEFENSE Motion for Summary Judgment. Now it’s time to flip over to the Defense Opposition to the PLAINTIFFS Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. As I did yesterday, I’m going to conduct my review by gathering together some choice quotations from the filing and commenting on them individually, starting with this very important one…

Moreover, even if the Court were to construe Plaintiffs’ unsubstantiated and self-serving speculation that they could theoretically be harmed by Defendants’ Works as “evidence,” this would only create a factual dispute on fair use.

This shows that the defense isn’t just opting for a “We’re obviously right, and they’re obviously full of crap…” approach like the plaintiffs did. (That’s not an actual quote from the plaintiffs’ filing, but it’s a pretty good summation.)

Instead, the defense is going to also cover their flank and protect themselves against the judge going with the plaintiffs. In other words, yes, they’re saying “We’re right and they’re wrong,” but they are also saying, “But if you think they’re right, then we really need to let a jury decide.” Summary judgments only happen if there is clearly NOT a factual dispute. So pay attention to how many times the defense suggests that a the facts need to be brought in front of a jury. The plaintiffs don’t do that at all.

Two legal teams…two different strategies. Fascinating, ain’t it? (Well, I think it’s fascinating, at least!) So, let’s look at what the defense has to say…

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A closer look at the OPPOSITION BRIEFS in the AXANAR LAWSUIT (Part 1)

Yes, it’s that magical time again! Jonathan is going to play tour guide to take anyone who is interested on a journey through the latest two major filings in the AXANAR lawsuit, each submitted to the Ninth Circuit Federal Court this past Monday.

Plaintiffs Opposition

Defense Opposition

For a better idea of what is going on at the moment, check out my (not so brief!) four-part blog on the motions for summary judgment (start here). In that analysis, I flipped a coin and began with the defense. This time, to be polite, I’m going to begin with the plaintiffs.

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OPPOSING MOTIONS filed by both parties in the AXANAR LAWSUIT

First, I’d like to apologize if FAN FILM FACTOR seems like it’s turning into the ALL-AXAANR NETWORK.

Yes, there are still other Star Trek fan films out there, and I promise to get back to covering them. But the Axanar news these past two weeks (and for the next three weeks) is truly significant and could, very likely, affect ALL Star Trek fan films and series…in a good way, a bad way, or possibly even both. So in my opinion, this is news deserving of extensive coverage.

That said, shortly before midnight on Monday, both parties in the Axanar copyright infringement lawsuit filed briefs opposing the others’ motions for (partial) summary judgment. Monday was the deadline, and these filings were widely expected by those following the case.

The goal of each legal team is not to win the case here and now, however. In a situation similar to the old joke, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you!” the idea is to simply torpedo the other side’s motion to get the judge to issue any ruling BEFORE the case goes before a jury. As such, if/when you read the filings, you’ll notice a tendency to argue that “the facts are still very much in question” rather than “they’re just plain wrong and we’re right.” As long as the facts are still in dispute, this case goes to court, and a jury gets to decide.

Here’s a link to the Plaintiffs Opposition filing and also a link to the Defense Opposition filing. And once again, they are both brought to you by the number 20…as there is a 20-page limit in how long these “briefs” can be. Some day, I am certain, all of this filings in this case will be required reading in law school courses on copyrights and intellectual property law. Yes, this case is THAT significant, and both sides are writing textbook motions that have a lot to teach future attorneys.

In a few days, I’ll try to provide my own “briefs” on these briefs…hopefully shorter than last week! Some things to notice if you do bother to read these:

The plaintiffs are back to using pictures again!
Now it’s the plaintiffs’ turn to bring up Star Wars…and Harry Potter!
On the other side, the defense points out that Garth of Izar and Soval are not James Bond and Godzilla!
Apparently, long-time Trekkie and director of Star Trek Beyond, Justin Lin, never heard of Garth of Izar!
Apparently, no, the studio (Paramount) never bothered to register a copyright on Garth of Izar nor on Ambassador Soval. (This could be problematic for the plaintiffs.)
If the judge grants the plaintiffs’ requested injunction against Alec Peters, it could violate the first amendment! (Hey, I’m just reporting the news, folks.)
This time, the plaintiffs used a proper redaction technique. Whew!

And yes, I’m also going to include some blogs about OTHER Star Trek fan films really soon…I promise!

A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 4)

Last time, we began looking at the PLAINTIFFS Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in the AXANAR copyright infringement lawsuit. In Part 1 and Part 2, we looked at the DEFENSE Motion for Summary Judgment. There’s been a LOT to cover, but we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (I’m just not sure whether or not it’s an oncoming train!).

Okay, so let’s say you to want to bake a winning copyright infringement lawsuit…what do you need to win?

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A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 3)

Last time (and the time before that), we took a look at the defense’s DEFENSE Motion for Summary Judgment in the AXANAR copyright infringement lawsuit. Now it’s time to take a look at the PLAINTIFFS Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and see what they have to say. And they certainly have a lot to say (as did the defense).

The first question you might be asking is why the plaintiff’s motion is only for a partial summary judgment. The answer is actually rather simple. They aren’t asking for the judge to stop the entire case, only the parts where the plaintiffs could lose and the defense could win. In other words, they want Judge Klausner to say that the defendant Alec Peters infringed and shouldn’t be allowed to make any more Axanar anything. But, you ask, isn’t that all there is…is there nothing more? Oh, there’s one more thing still to determine…

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A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 2)

Last time, we began to analyze the DEFENSE Motion for Summary Judgment that was filed by the AXANAR legal team on Wednesday with Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Ninth Circuit Federal Court.

The attorneys for CBS and Paramount also filed a PLAINTIFFS Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, and I look more thoroughly into that in my next blog. But the defense won the coin toss (yes, I actually flipped a coin to see which side would be analyzed first!).

When last we left off, we had just gotten to the “meat” of the defense’s motion:

“FAIR USE” – WHAT THE HECK IS IT?

Continue reading “A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 2)”

A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 1)

It was the best of crimes; it was the worst of crimes…or was it even a crime at all? (Actually, this is a civil trial, not criminal…but I needed a word that rhymes with “times.”)

Looking at the two motions for summary judgment filed late Wednesday night by the two parties in the AXANAR copyright infringement lawsuit, one might wonder if he or she had just read a tale of two completely different fan films. The defense, unsurprisingly, had that “What…little old us?” look as they discussed a mostly original piece of creative fiction that used just the smallest sliver of Star Trek–and only the “minimum” that was necessary to tell its story that was actually a “critical commentary and analysis” of “the present-day military industrial complex.”

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs painted a picture of a nefarious fan who maliciously tried to line his own pockets with ill-gotten gains taken from the good and just studios who have made Star Trek lo these 50 years. His fan film contains nothing original and was simply a “…copy from the plots, themes, settings, mood, dialogue, characters, and pace of the Star Trek works.” The very existence of Axanar in any way will “…cause irreparable harm to the market for the Star Trek Copyrighted Works…” and must be ended immediately “in the public interest.”

They can’t both be right, can they?

Continue reading “A Tale of Two(?) Fan Films – Analyzing the MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in the AXANAR LAWSUIT! (Part 1)”

AXANAR PRODUCTIONS releases an important update to DONORS!

The following message was just sent to all AXANAR donors…

In light of information contained in the Motions for Summary Judgement filed by both sides in our continuing litigation with CBS Studios and Paramount Productions, we think it’s important to provide some information to our fans and backers to help put everything into context:

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