Exploring the world of Star Trek fan films.
Going against my better judgment (that’s screaming at me, “Jon, stop typing NOW!”), I’m going to jump head first into the latest controversy surrounding a recent comment claiming that Axanar has “poisoned the well” for all other fan films.
Buckle up, folks!
And just when you thought we were done with pre-hearing filings in the Paramount and CBS copyright lawsuit against AXANAR, in come the Klingons!
In what has to be one of the strangest amicus briefs (a “friend of the court” opinion submitted in a case by a party not directly involved) to ever come across U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner’s desk, Marc Randazza of the Language Creation Society has argued that Paramount and CBS’s claim of ownership of the Klingon language should be dismissed because Klingon is, in fact, NOT copyrightable!
Today’s Hollywood Reporter has a very entertaining write-up of this story which actually contains a link to the filing itself. As far as I’m concerned, this amicus brief is a MUST READ just to enjoy the fact that a serious legal document has been filed in Federal Court that is written partly in KLINGON!
And just to remind everyone, Paramount did produce this hilarious episode of Frasier, “Star Mitzvah,” back in 2002:
In what is likely the final documentation containing legal arguments to be submitted before the court hearing on May 9, 2016, the attorneys representing Axanar have just filed a Response to Paramount and CBS’s Response to Axanar‘s latest Motion to Dismiss (itself a response to Paramount and CBS’s Amended complaint for copyright infringement).
Although Fan Film Factor is taking a neutral stance regarding this lawsuit, I do have to admit to being fascinated as I read each of these documents. If one can get past all the legal language and case references scattered throughout, what amazed me most was how thoroughly convinced I was each time I read the arguments of one side or the other. Just when I thought, “Oh, man, they’ve nailed it!” I would read the response and think, “Okay, well, that convinced me the other way!”
In other words, I’m glad I’m not the judge on this case! He’ll have to study all the main legal documentation filed in this case so far…
Here is a link to the text of the ORIGINAL lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar‘s ORIGINAL response.
Here is a link to the text of the AMENDED lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar’s SECOND response.
Here is a link to the analysis of CBS/Paramount’s response to that.
And here is a link to the FINAL response from Axanar.
For a more complete list of media coverage of this story, Axanar has provided this Press Room Page full of links to news reports and editorials regarding the lawsuit.
Yesterday, fan rumors began furiously flying when two separate fan series websites were suddenly unavailable at the same time! Was this some new offensive by CBS and Paramount to shut down all fan films???
Stand down from red alert, folks. It turns out that nothing so earth-shattering happened. In the case of Axanar‘s website, the glitch appears to have been just that, and the site is back up and running normally.
In the case of Star Trek: New Voyages, the disappearance of their main U.S. website was explained on their international Facebook page:
Continue reading “DON’T PANIC!!! – NEW VOYAGES and AXANAR websites both go offline temporarily”
On April 11, the attorneys representing Paramount and CBS in their copyright infringement lawsuit against Axanar Productions and Alec Peters filed a Response to the latest documents that were submitted by Axanar‘s attorney’s on March 28, 2016. Those documents were themselves a Response to the Amended Complaint filed by Paramount and CBS on March 11.
In their Response on March 28, the Axanar attorneys again argued for the case to be dismissed due to Paramount and CBS not meeting certain requirements that would make their complaint valid. The plaintiffs have now responded to most of the points made by Axanar, meaning the ball is once again in Axanar‘s court (no pun intended). Should Axanar choose to respond to this response to their response (yeah, I know!), they have two weeks to file.
In the meantime, enjoy the long parade of documentation…
Here is a link to the text of the ORIGINAL lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar‘s ORIGINAL response.
Here is a link to the text of the AMENDED lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar’s SECOND response.
And finally, I was not able to find a PDF of CBS/Paramount’s most recent Response, but I did find an analysis of their filing by a retired attorney that includes linked graphics of all 26 pages of the Response as well as a Request for Judicial Notice.
Here is a link to the analysis of the LATEST response.
Please note: Fan Film Factor is taking a neutral stance regarding this lawsuit and will simply announce developments as they happen.
For a more complete list of media coverage of this story, Axanar has provided this Press Room Page full of links to news reports and editorials regarding the lawsuit.
On March 28, 2016, the legal team for Axanar Productions and Alec Peters, the firm of Winston & Strawn LLP, filed a response to the AMENDED copyright infringement complaint that was brought by Paramount and CBS on March 11, 2015. The response is Axanar’s second and again seeks a dismissal of the complaint on a number of legal grounds.
The original complaint was brought by Paramount and CBS on December 29, 2015. Axanar’s legal team filed a response on February 22, 2016 seeking dismissal of the lawsuit on a number of legal grounds. Presumably, that response is what has motivated Paramount and CBS to amend their complaint.
Here is a link to the text of the ORIGINAL lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar‘s ORIGINAL response.
Here is a link to the text of the AMENDED lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar’s LATEST response.
Please note: Fan Film Factor is taking a neutral stance regarding this lawsuit and will simply announce developments as they happen.
For a more complete list of media coverage of this story, Axanar has provided this Press Room Page full of links to news reports and editorials regarding the lawsuit.
On March 11, 2016, Paramount and CBS filed an amended complaint against Axanar Productions and Alec Peters for copyright infringement complaint, specifying precisely which elements of the Star Trek intellectual property that the two studios believe was illegally used without consent.
The original complaint was brought by Paramount and CBS on December 29, 2015. Axanar’s legal team filed a response on February 22, 2016 seeking dismissal of the lawsuit on a number of legal grounds. Presumably, that response is what has motivated Paramount and CBS to amend their complaint.
Here is a link to the text of the original lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar‘s response.
Here is a link to the text of the AMENDED lawsuit.
Please note: Fan Film Factor is taking a neutral stance regarding this lawsuit and will simply announce developments as they happen.
For a more complete list of media coverage of this story, Axanar has provided this Press Room Page full of links to news reports and editorials regarding the lawsuit.
On February 22, 2016, the legal team for Axanar Productions and Alec Peters, the firm of Winston & Strawn LLP, filed a response to the copyright infringement complaint that was brought by Paramount and CBS on December 29, 2015. The response seeks a dismissal of the complaint on a number of legal grounds.
Here is a link to the text of the original lawsuit.
Here is a link to the text of Axanar‘s response.
Please note: Fan Film Factor is taking a neutral stance regarding this lawsuit and will simply announce developments as they happen.
For a more complete list of media coverage of this story, Axanar has provided this Press Room Page full of links to news reports and editorials regarding the lawsuit.