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Axanar Production sued by Paramount and CBS

Axanar Productions prepares for its lawsuit against Paramount & CBS.

By Federation News Service Wed 06 Jan, 2016 9:00 PM - Last Updated: Sun 03 Apr, 2016 1:07 AM

Axanar Productions prepares for its lawsuit against Paramount & CBS.

In a story that broke over the Christmas holidays, the creators of the “Fan Film” Star Trek Axanar, Axanar Productions, is being sued by both CBS and Paramount, in a joint action, for alleged copyright infringement. Alec Peters, Producer and Writer, has been named as a co-defendant. The suit has been filed in Federal Court in California. CBS and Paramount are seeking $150,000 in damages for each infringing element.

Axanar takes place 21 years before the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. The cast and crew include many that have worked on “official” Star Trek projects. Axanar tells the story of the Four Years War between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Axanar Productions has released a 21 minute “Prelude to Axanar”, detailing the events leading up to the Axanar movie.

CBSCBS owns the original copyright to "Star Trek"Part of the suit includes a request that there be an injunction to halt production of Axanar. Having been funded through one of the most successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns in modern times, the film has large support from Star Trek fans and industry professionals alike. CBS and Paramount allege that Axanar Productions have wrongfully made use of characters, species, locations, and other ideas that “belong” to CBS and Paramount.

Axanar Productions believe they have done nothing that countless others have done in the past, as this type of film has been allowed to be made previously and they will not be directly making financial gains from the movie. Previous fan films have not had this level of professional-grade effects or production that the Axanar team is producing for their film. CBS and Paramount allege that Axanar feels too much like an official Trek movie; That along with the backing of well-known actors, and substantial financial backing.

This is the first of the many fan productions to have received such a lawsuit by the parent companies that own the Star Trek franchise. Such fan films as Star Trek Renegades was allowed to exist without issue, yet Axanar has been singled out for attention. The reason, as quoted by TrekNews.com from the lawsuit itself is:

“[Axanar] have raised over $1 million so far to produce these works, including building out a studio and hiring actors, set designers, and costume designers. The Axanar works are substantially similar to and unauthorized derivative works of [Star Trek].”

The reason this has come as such a body-blow to the creators and fans of Axanar, has been the unwritten agreement with the fanbase from Paramount that fan films can be made, under the so called “New Voyages Agreement”, when James Cawley, the creator and mastermind behind Star Trek New Voyages, received the following from Paramount Legal: "Have fun, but don't sell tickets, don't sell copies, don't make a profit."

Whilst in no way a legally binding contract, it did set the tone for fan productions for the next fifteen years. It is felt by the Star Trek community as a whole that Axanar is being singled out for attention due to its unprecedented publicity and success internationally, as well as attracting the same type of professional technical and acting talent as full blown Star Trek productions. Most productions tend to be made on rudimentary recording equipment in warehouses and parents basements - whereas Axanar probably has the same operating budget and specialist inhouse talent that Star Trek Voyager could boast at the beginning of its life.


AlecAlec Peters, Lead Developer of "Axanar"Alec Peters went onto Facebook on December 30th to announce the bad news to the loyal fan-base, which has already started a Twitter campaign of #Istandwithaxanar, stating that he was disappointed at the development - but that he remained hopeful that a mutually beneficial resolution could be found between all parties involved. Since then, Star Trek Legend David Gerrold has issued his own public statement in support of Axanar, and fan projects in general.

David Gerrold has expressed a fond hope and desire that a similar arrangement that exists with LucasArts with regards to fan productions of the Star Wars franchise, will come to exist with Paramount/CBS, in that they actively support and promote fan productions. LucasArts developed an industry award for fan productions, as well as arrange for licensing and distribution of the finished product - splitting the proceeds between the copyright holders and the filmmakers to allow future production.

All that is certain at this point is that with the legal wrangling that is likely to be taking place over the next few months, production and eventual release of Axanar has been postponed, with filming set to commence in January 2016, the timing of the lawsuit is far from coincidental.

What shape the eventual release will take, if it happens at all, is yet to be seen. What is becoming extremely clear at this point is how much harm this lawsuit is doing to Paramount and CBS’s good will with the fanbase that made the franchise as popular and profitable as it has now become.

Star Trek fans across the world have taken to social media to pour on their support for Axanar, citing their contempt for the “big corporate goliath”. Whilst this is a fair and reasonable interpretation of current events, it's also a tad misleading. Paramount and CBS have a brand image to protect, and whilst pretty much all fanbase productions to date have been very low budget affairs - even if they feature known talent as Walter Koenig and Tim Russ - they’ve never really been a significant threat to the corporate identity of Star Trek. Axanar stands to be a huge success, with its production techniques being some of the most advanced and impressive seen. Whilst I think it is fair to say that recent offerings from Paramount with regards to Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness, have left fans very much wanting.

It remains to be seen how this will all unfold, but this will not die quietly into the night, and the fans of Star Trek and Axanar will be watching with keen interest on developments.

WRITTEN BY KERRYMALONE & VENETHUS
EDITED BY KERRYMALONE - PETER.MILLER@UFPLANETS.COM

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18 Comments
Wed 06 Jan, 2016 11:03 PM
Excellent article Kerry
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 1:27 AM
I'm kind of surprised at this. I thought CBS/Paramount had worked out some sort of agreement on unofficial Star Trek projects like the ones from Tim Russ. But considering how much money and attention Axanar has gained, it wouldn't be surprising that CBS/Paramount wanting a slice of that pie is the motive for the lawsuit.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 1:49 AM
Here a change .org petition.
https://www.change.org/p/cbs-support...=new_signature
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 11:05 AM
Signed that petition, thanks for posting Knight! Excellent article Kerry, I have to say that when I first learned of this news, I was not entirely surprised. Angry would an understatement, I just hope CBS and Paramount get nailed to wall for stifling creativity. I think they are only doing this because Axanar would be more successful than Star Trek Beyond will most likely be. They must be predicting it to bomb at the boxoffice.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 3:18 PM
Playing devil's advocate here I know.


Of course this is about money and in that regards I can't blame the "Evil corporation" for protecting their interests. While they may have been ok with cheap basement productions, this Axanar sounds rather professional and would be a reasonable threat to paramount/cbs business interests. Would it be aweomse if we all could do whatever the heck we please with any intellectual property? Sure, but in a capitalist world, that's now how it works.


These are not some kid youtubers and if they are using former crew that worked on Star Trek projects and the like, they should have seen this option coming and tried to prevent it by sitting down with paramount. Maybe they have, I don't know, but the article doesn't seem to indicate that. And while it is still labelled as a fan production, seeking external investors through kickstarters (yes kickstart is very big business and sometimes extremely lucrative) kind of places them outside of the small nerdy hobby project realm

When in the slighest doubt, and this clearly should have been, seek approval from the people that hold the rights to the property

Having said that, I do hope they can come to an agreeable solution for both parties.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 3:23 PM
Failing to protect their intellectual property when the infringement is on this scale and fashion (getting funding, hiring professionals, and basically acting completely like a competitor) would mean they lose it.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 4:38 PM
Relax everybody, it's all about the money. CBS/Paramount just wants their cut since the fund raising went so well. They will reach a settlement, pay some amount to CBS/Paramount and the show will go on. It's the American way lol. And very nice article Kerry Thumbs up
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 6:07 PM
It's not just about the Axanar money, it's about the IP, which is worth a lot more money.

Them getting a cut would mean they've defended their IP. Failing to defend their IP risks losing their ability to do so permanently.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 6:28 PM
As I said, it's all the money. I didn't say that's a bad thing. It is what it is. It makes the world go around Smile
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 7:11 PM
Grease does make the wheels move quicker and silently. CBS/Paramount did not ask for a C&D judgement. This is a business and they want royalties due to them for their IP. They are not looking to shut the production down, just making their position clear. That has to be respected, if not necessarily liked. Also, filing a lawsuit - that embodies the American way.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 7:24 PM
Originally Posted by Ross
Grease does make the wheels move quicker and silently. CBS/Paramount did not ask for a C&D judgement. This is a business and they want royalties due to them for their IP. They are not looking to shut the production down, just making their position clear. That has to be respected, if not necessarily liked. Also, filing a lawsuit - that embodies the American way.
Ross more to the point, in the Article it states that CBS have requested an injunction to halt production on Axanar, which seems to me they actively trying to kill it. Unless the injunction is a temporary measure? I'm not versed in all this legality but on the face of it..

Sent via Emergency Communication Channel Omega
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 7:49 PM
I sincerely hope that all sides come to a resolution and that this is in fact a temporary measure.
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 7:50 PM
Another theory could be that CBS is gearing up for "their" planned new Star Trek TV series slated for January 2017. If you are trying to re-launch your own TV series, you certainly do not want any competition to derail it.

source: http://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-series/
Thu 07 Jan, 2016 7:54 PM
From the legal perspective they would file the injunction to support the concept of protecting their IP and copyright. It will all get settled, no need to worry. And if anything, all the grass roots social medial stuff is just free advertising which will actually increase exposure for both sides at no cost to them which they love.
Fri 08 Jan, 2016 12:15 AM
Having worked through many an IP battle myself, I'm not terribly surprised. The usual culprit is often the conflict of US IP laws (Which I believe Axanar falls under fair use), and international laws (Where in some countries if CBS/Paramount does not at least attempt to fight for it's IP they can lose the rights altogether).

As Bill has said a couple of times, these things usually work out. Most of the time it's settled out of court, but sometimes can lead to some very strange court battles.

Imagine trying to explain technical aspects of any fan based IP to people who don't 'get it'. It can be frustrating for both parties.
Sat 09 Jan, 2016 5:07 PM
Personally i think its the whole canon stuff you will notice most the fan made project like renegades deal with diffrent species or stories that has nothing to do with the current movies and shows. This however is taking places during klingon war 21 years in the past they had to of lnown they were gonna be walking a very thin line.
Wed 13 Jan, 2016 8:37 PM
I dont understand companies like cbs. Yeah, you got the rights to a popular title, but why be bullies with the fans that want to do something with it or better yet be little more flexible with giving people permission to use the title. Only promotes the title more when some makes a fan film, skit, cartoon. Oh, of course its about money, but still. Gene rolling in his grave right now.
Mon 25 Jan, 2016 9:34 PM
I want to preface my reply by stating that I've contributed to every single Axanar crowdfunding campaign; I have all the patches and I have my BluRay.

That being said... the problem here isn't that CBS & Paramount are being bullies... they have a legitimate gripe with Axanar due to the way that it is structured in terms of professionalism and financially.

Axanar erred in a couple of places: Alec Peters draws a salary, and he's paying a lot of below-the-line employees. They purchased a studio complex in Valencia, California, and they're renting it out to anyone who wants to use it for their own projects. The problem lies in how they raised the capital to do this (on the back of someone else's intellectual property). That's a huge problem for both CBS and Paramount.

Let's talk about why; Ares Studios (Alec's firm) considers itself to be at a pro-level. And how they're producing Axanar backs this up. They hire a lot of professional people (actors, producers, designers, costumers, etc). That's a far cry from how other fan films are producing (mostly non-profit, amateurs, with some exceptions in acting and writing, all of it out-of-pocket or donated). So, an argument can be made that because Ares is following a lot of established trade practices within the film industry, it is a de facto professional operation.

Well, guess who else has professional operations? ABC, NBC, Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and many others. If CBS and Paramount were to allow Ares to continue without protecting their IP, another studio could argue in court that they can produce Star Trek as well. After all, Ares is a pro-level studio... they paid their producers, and make money off of ventures built with funds earned off of Trek.

Look up copyright/trademark abandonment, because that's really what's at stake here.

-- Kyuu