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Paramount, CBS File Lawsuit Against ‘Axanar’ [UPDATED]

Paramount, CBS File Lawsuit Against 'Axanar'
Paramount, CBS File Lawsuit Against 'Axanar'

CBS and Paramount have filed a lawsuit in California federal court against the producers of the independent and crowd-funded Axanar film project — citing a violation of their intellectual property, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

To date, the Axanar project has raised more than $1 million in crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Until now, CBS and Paramount have tolerated fan productions — including Star Trek: New Voyages and Star Trek Continues. However, none of those have none have received the funding that Axanar has. Aside from the funding, the project also has professionals working on it, including several former Star Trek actors.

The complaint claims that ”The Axanar Works infringe Plaintiffs’ works by using innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes.”

If you’re not already aware of Axanar, the official description on their website states: ”Axanar takes place 21 years before the events of ‘Where no Man Has Gone Before’, the first Kirk episode of the original Star Trek. Axanar is the story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain who is Captain Kirk’s hero… Axanar tells the story of Garth and his crew during the Four Years War, the war with the Klingon Empire that almost tore the Federation apart. Garth’s victory at Axanar solidified the Federation and allowed it to become the entity we know in Kirk’s time. It is the year 2245 and the war with the Klingons ends here.”

Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond is set to be released in theaters on July 22 and CBS is currently developing their own television series for CBS All Access in 2017.

UPDATE:

The team behind Axanar responded to the suit on their Facebook page:

Well, it appears CBS knows that Axanar is exactly what fans want, because they are trying to shut us down! While Team Axanar will have a response shortly, know this DOES NOT deter us from what we are doing! Delivering to fans exactly what you want.
Goliath, meet David (and his thousands of screaming fans)!
‪#‎IstandwithAxanar‬

You can read the full complaint here.

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229 Comments

229 Comments

  1. 00 Gundam Meister

    December 30, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    Star Trek fans, do you support Axanar?

    I suggest visiting the Twitter pages of CBS & Paramount & leave a message.

    #IStandWithAxanar

    LLAP.

    • Malphius

      December 31, 2015 at 1:18 am

      I’ve already left several. The best thing to do is just boycott “Trek & The Furious”.

      • Bob Bobberson

        December 31, 2015 at 4:25 am

        I agree. Time for a boycott.

        • Krazy Joe

          January 19, 2016 at 7:02 am

          No way. Boycotts are for crybabies

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 19, 2016 at 11:38 am

            Boycotts; voting with dollars. If you think voting is for babies, move to north Korea.

          • Krazy Joe

            January 21, 2016 at 1:16 pm

            Nope, uh uh

          • Bemyguest

            February 9, 2016 at 8:17 pm

            Embrace your inner child and cry with us.

            You can do it.

      • Da Han

        January 1, 2016 at 9:03 am

        Ditto

      • Shadowkey392

        January 6, 2016 at 4:01 pm

        Agreed! Make it clear that we’ll make Star Trek: Beyond into the BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE BOMB IN HISTORY if they don’t drop this bull***t NOW.

        • Krazy Joe

          January 19, 2016 at 7:02 am

          I’m seeing it.

      • Krazy Joe

        January 19, 2016 at 7:01 am

        Not gonna happen. I’m seeing Star Trek Beyond opening day

        • Malphius

          January 19, 2016 at 2:45 pm

          To each their own.

        • Bob Bobberson

          January 20, 2016 at 2:20 am

          Why bother? It’s probably going to be just as crappy as “into darkness”. And that’s pretty much the worst Trek film of all time. Hell, I’d “the final frontier” again before that POS.

          • Krazy Joe

            January 21, 2016 at 1:18 pm

            Into Darkness was crap but Star Trek Beyond has a new director so we Have no idea what to expect from Star Trek 13 until we see it. Besides, Star Trek 11 was awesOme

          • mhdaniels31

            March 5, 2016 at 8:50 am

            I think box office sales and bluray sales say otherwise the new star trek reboots introduced star trek to a younger audience and did it in a way that made it feel different from the tv and movies of old. I only remeber those tv and movies watching them when i was a really small kid but I liked them but that kind of aproach wouldnt fly in the movies today I think its great for you guys to be nostalgic everything was better when you were a kid but realize your just taring something apart thats already proved itself because its different from what your used to thats called becoming old “everything was always better back in the day ahhh shucks” you remind me of my grandpa not that its bad but well you should understand my point by now

      • Krazy Joe

        January 21, 2016 at 1:16 pm

        Nope

        • Malphius

          January 21, 2016 at 2:50 pm

          Yep. It’s crap anyways.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 3:25 am

      I support them in that I want them to make the movie they said they would. I –DO NOT– support them in their for-profit coffee business in winch they entered into a business partnership to sell coffee whose labels use intellectual property that clearly doesn’t belong to them, and that other entities doing the same would be required to pay licensing fees. I wan them to make the movie… but they are getting distracted, and you have only the people at Axanar themselves to blame for it.

      Again.. I want to see the movie.. but the Axanar folks have let us all down in this respect. It looks as though they are adopting a scorched earth policy too.. “If we can do it , then no one can”. My advise to Axanar people is to stop being so stand-off-ish and start playing by the rules. That is literally the -only hope- (albeit small) we have to ever see this movie.

      • Shadowkey392

        January 6, 2016 at 4:03 pm

        Correction. We have only the people at Paramount and CBS to blame. Axanar’s people have done nothing wrong. They only stuff they HAVE done, is stuff which HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE by countless fan films! #IStandWithAxanar

  2. Bob

    December 30, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    If Paramount could make a decent movie instead of the apple, IKEA looking crap they are putting out, ( I. E. fast and furious in space) maybe the fans would not need to do it ourselves!! Leave Axanar alone!!

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 2:51 am

      so because a legal copyright holder makes poor movies you feel it is the right of a fan film to impede upon their legal rights and do as they wish?

      • Bob Bobberson

        December 31, 2015 at 4:36 am

        They have always consented, with the stipulation that no profit is made. Im going to copy and past my comment from upthread…..

        The timing kind of makes this an act of bad faith. There may actually be some legal recourse here…. I’m not saying they’ll win, But they at least have a leg to stand on, legally speaking. And I wonder if paramount will want to risk bad PR from suing fans (and a potential boycott) this close to the release of the film they’ve been trying so hard to convince us will put the franchise back on track. Maybe the axenar producers should do another kick start thing to raise legal fees. and fans should Threaten a boycott. This thing could be made to go away, if enough noise is made.

        • Edohiguma

          January 2, 2016 at 3:02 pm

          That they have always consented in the past is irrelevant. Simple example: Just because I let certain people walk across my property doesn’t mean I have to let anybody else trespass. Yes, I have consented to these other people in the past, but that doesn’t give you the right to trespass.

          The crux is that this is being funded via kickstarter. People give them money. It’s not for profit? Technically it is. In order to have a successful kickstarter and start producing they need to reach the goal of said kickstarter.

          • Jaime Osbourn

            January 3, 2016 at 9:19 am

            Beg to differ you cannot pick and choose whom you let violate your intellectual copyright. If you tolerate one you must tolerate all. Also look up the definition of profit. A kickstarter campaign is to raise the money to cover expected costs that is not profit.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 3:59 am

            You -ABSOLUTELY- can “pick and choose whom you let violate your intellectual copyright”. That’s your right as the owner of the material. It’s not true at all that you must tolerate all or none. It’s yours. You have the rights to decide who does what with it.

            I understand you want to see the movie… I do to. But you are talking nonsense right now.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 5, 2016 at 3:36 pm

            That’s true, about future productions, but this one has begun production already, that;s what I mean by bad faith. You can’t consent to some one walking across your property, then withdraw that consent while they’re halfway across, and THEN shoot them for trespassing.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 4:01 am

            Do we ever know if CBS consented to Axanar using it’s IP to hawk coffee?

        • maskddingo

          January 6, 2016 at 3:57 am

          “They have always consented, with the stipulation that no profit is made.”

          There is your answer. Axanar (or rather the guy who runs it) is making profit.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 6, 2016 at 3:59 pm

            Do you work for bad robot?

    • Da Han

      January 1, 2016 at 9:08 am

      Bravo

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 3:56 am

      The problem is not fans making films. the problem is films making a profit using CBS IP. This is what is being done with Axanar coffee. Quite egregiously I might add. I doubt that this coffee is the limit of the extent of their attempts to sell merchandise with CBS IP all over it, but it’s enough in and of itself to constitute a pretty gave violation.

  3. Dan

    December 30, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    They are jsut pissed off because Axanar is very good.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:02 am

      Axanar is very good? It doesn’t even exist!

  4. Marcelo Carvalho

    December 30, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    So bad CBS/Paramount…!! So bad…! 😛

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:02 am

      Blame Axanar. They effed it up.

  5. Darrin

    December 30, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    isn’t this an open-and-shut defense of laches? They’ve let these kinds of films slide by for years without comment, and clearly knew Axanar was in development (even giving it a blessing at one point, apparently).

    • IndyCarFan

      December 30, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      That is my opinion as well, i dont see how they can stand on anything when they have allowed all these fan made projects and now they decide to go after one that is going to upstage what JJCrap has done?

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 2:54 am

      obviously something has changed. there was some sort of infringement that called the copyright holders to rally their forces…..you seem so hellbent on blaming the big guy when in reality they are the legal owners….using Mr Spock it would be logical to assume that the agreement was broken by Axanar….or that the copyright holders changed their minds…..sad if this is indeed the reality but within their rights,.

      • Bob Bobberson

        December 31, 2015 at 4:50 am

        The Thing that changed is negative reaction to STID. They perceive Axanar as a Threat to the new Star trek fast & furious. Many old school fans might consider Ax. to be the “true” trek, so they’re trying to kill competition to the franchise.

        • Da Han

          January 1, 2016 at 9:10 am

          Sounds about right

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 4:09 am

            No… it sounds freaking insane.

        • maskddingo

          January 6, 2016 at 4:08 am

          Delusional, self-importance. That’s all your response was.

          To hold the belief that ‘Axanar’ would any way ‘compete’ with STB to the point where it would be stealing an audience is absolutely ludicrous.

          I wanted to see Axanar too… and I’d probably like it more that STB, but please come back to reality with me so we don’t make things worse. There is no way Axanar would cut into any of CBS’s profits. They are pissed that Axanar is using their IP to make money. They have good cause to believe that is happening given this: https://www.axanarcoffee.com/. It will all get sorted out in court.

          If I were you, I’d be more upset with the folks at Axanar. As mentioned countless times, other productions haven’t had problems… but then other productions haven’t tried to use CBS IP to brand their own coffee and sell it on the Internet. That’s bone-headed and I don’t see how you can blame anyone but Axanar. They have really let down the Star Trek community. God help them if there bone-head-ery leads to other productions getting shut down.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 6, 2016 at 3:55 pm

            Why would I be upset with axanar? they’re the only ones trying to make real Star Trek. JJ abrams “star trek” is flat out stupid.

    • Edohiguma

      January 2, 2016 at 3:04 pm

      Because they’ve let it slide in the past is a really garbage legal defense. Simple example: Just because I let certain people walk across my property doesn’t mean I have to let anybody else trespass. Yes, I have consented to these other people in the past, but that doesn’t give you the right to trespass.

      The crux is that this is being funded via kickstarter. People give them money. It’s not for profit? Technically it is. In order to have a successful kickstarter and start producing they need to reach the goal of said kickstarter, that means that, technically, they need kickstarter profit. And with that goes the notion of “fan film” and “fair use” straight out the window.

      • Berrick

        January 3, 2016 at 2:49 pm

        If you want to get technical, you don’t understand what the word “profit” means. It’s when someone attains or produces something at cost x and sells it to someone else at price x+y, the “profit” being y. Nothing is being sold in a kickstarter fundraising. Furthermore, profit is free and clear, whereas the donations given in a fundraiser are dedicated to a specific use, such as the use of making a film funded by a kickstarter program.
        The copyright issue is a bit greyer. Your example of letting people cross your lawn is a bad analogy, since walking across a lawn is not at all similar to making a film, but let’s work with it: if you have said to the neighborhood in general, more than once, that it’s okay to cross your lawn, it will make it harder for you to get trespassing charges to stick on that one person you don’t like. CBS/Paramount has allowed fan films in the past, and have even expressed a tentative permission for them in general as long as the films did not make profit (as in people paying to buy the finished movie–not donations to fund its production). Almost all of the fan films have been funded by fan donations; none have made profit. There is clear precedence of their winking at these fan films, which interferes with the culpability of a new production team, such as the Axanar folks, doing the same thing.
        However, they will probably win a lawsuit because, despite the precedence of ignoring not-for-profit uses in the past, they still hold the copyrights. It’s just not as open and shut as you seem to think it is.

        • maskddingo

          January 6, 2016 at 4:15 am

          This is profit for someone: https://www.axanarcoffee.com/

          • Berrick

            January 6, 2016 at 5:27 pm

            That would be profit for whoever is selling the coffee, but the donations they give to the film production are not (or, rather the donations they said they would give: none of those websites seem to exist anymore).
            I’m not sure about the merchandising you’re referring to, since everything I find when I look for Axanar is links to the “Prelude” video, information about the upcoming film, or news pieces on the lawsuit. I haven’t seen merchandising links or info on any of those sites. Maybe those have been removed as well.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:05 am

      It’s not because it’s a fan-film. It’s the fact that Axanar is using CBS IP in merchandising which doesn’t fall under ‘kickstarter’ or even ‘croud-sourcing’. it’s just blatant commercialism… selling a product for a profit (using imagery you don’t hold the copyright to, no-less) on an e-commerce site. How they think this is OK to do is beyond me.

  6. ¡David Oakes! 

    December 30, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    I recognise the actor playing the Vulcan – who is it ?

    He looks a lot like Mark Lenard as Sarek.

    • Christopher F.

      December 30, 2015 at 2:45 pm

      Its Gary Graham, reprising his role as Soval.

    • Michele-my-bellflower

      January 2, 2016 at 12:41 pm

      Is it Chris Sarandon?

  7. Jean-Luc Gothos

    December 30, 2015 at 1:38 pm

    It’s obvious that Fans want more Star Trek, so why CBS/Paramount doesn’t just buy these productions and make them official is beyond me.

    • Christopher F.

      December 30, 2015 at 2:47 pm

      Because they don’t want Star Trek anymore. They want generic action adventure franchise #37 that can endlessly churn out mindless plots and rehashes on the cheap for instant profit.

      They don’t want slow, cerebral, “nerdy” Star Trek, because that doesn’t make as much money as Fast and Furious X+1.

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 2:55 am

      great idea but moot as now they are headed to the judges…..

    • Da Han

      January 1, 2016 at 9:10 am

      Yes. Offer licenses.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 4:22 am

        That sounds reasonable. I mean. If a production can secure $1million, it can afford to pay a licensing fee. They should have gotten a license for the coffee they are selling. That is already available.

        • Da Han

          January 23, 2016 at 4:22 am

          I would agree. Especially if they profited by PAR IP oriented coffee and mass produced model kits. Merchandising is an entirely different subject than the filmmaking aspect.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:20 am

      Well I think there is something to be said for that. If I were CBS I would try to find ways to embrace this stuff. I think for the most part, they have though. The only rule of ‘Don’t make a profit’ works… I admit the lines are very grey now with crowd-sourcing.

      However, the line -isn’t- grey when you are marketing coffee with CBS IP on it without a license agreement (like Axanar), so that is likely a big reason the hammer is coming down on them.

  8. crazybatmanfan

    December 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    “However, none of those have none have received the funding that Axanar has.”

    Are you guys hiring for the editing department?

  9. Christopher F.

    December 30, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    I donated in multiple campaigns, and I honestly believe this is the last light of Gene Roddenberry’s vision left. What CBS and Paramount have made is a dumbed down, lowest common denominator action series that dresses up in a starfleet uniform.

    It isn’t Trek. The JJverse Trek films are to true trekkies what the prequels were to Star Wars fans. Mindless drek that drags the name of the entire franchise down, and thats for a franchise that was already pretty low to start with by that point.

    CBS was aware of this the whole time. They could have stepped in at any time. But no, they chose to be complete dicks and wait until the thing was nearly finished before launching their suit in order to do maximum financial damage.

    You refuse to give true trekkies what we want, and then you try to take away the only people that are giving us what we want? What, you can’t compete with a quality offering of your own, so you’re just going to sue your way out of the predicament you find yourself in?

    Screw you CBS, screw you Paramount. #IStandWithAxanar

    • Betty Jo Miller Thaman

      December 30, 2015 at 3:06 pm

      Thank you for your thoughts on the JJ Treks and Star Wars prequels. I thought I was alone.

      • Malphius

        December 31, 2015 at 1:27 am

        The trek prequels are garbage. They could have their place IF the series remains true to spirit. Not sure I see it happening.

    • muskratboy

      December 30, 2015 at 8:50 pm

      From the other side… screw off, the new Star Trek is freaking fantastic. Beautifully updated, it has everything a real fan could ever hope for.

      Of course, I’m basing this on actual Star Trek, not this fantasy-land version you’ve built in your head. There is LOTS of Trek in the “action series” vein… and there is plenty of intellectual content in the first new Star Trek.

      “True” Trekkies would realize what a great job they did, and appreciate finally having some decent Trek around here for a change. You can go back to watching ‘Enterprise’ on repeat.

      • SoothsayerofDOOM

        December 31, 2015 at 3:08 am

        You are joking right? A fan of Lost maybe. Fans don’t want lens flares – we want real thought out Sci-Fi.

      • Bob Bobberson

        December 31, 2015 at 4:52 am

        STID is a travesty.

      • Christopher F.

        December 31, 2015 at 2:57 pm

        Okay, well lets get straight to it. The heart of TOS was two things:
        1) Social commentary. Pretty much everything about the show was a redressing of social issues at the time, right down to the makeup of the crew.

        2) Kirk/Spock/Bones triad. Spock was cool logic and reason, Bones was emotion and empathy, and Kirk was the factor that balanced the two extremes into a synthesis that created a very unique and enjoyable dynamic.

        Neither of those two things is represented in the JJverse films.

        Kirk was the youngest captain in Federation history after… only 14 years of training. He wasn’t a brash asshole that didn’t even finish cadet school before being given command of one of the most dangerous weapons ever created by mankind.

        • Bob Bobberson

          January 2, 2016 at 9:21 am

          And spock going off all emotional, two films in a row, seems like they intend to make this a regular feature, and ruin the whole of the character.

          • Christopher F.

            January 5, 2016 at 10:47 am

            Its called Flanderization, where what started as a minor feature of a character over time overwhelms the rest of said character, reducing them to a two dimensional representation where previously they had been (more) three dimensional.

            So named after Ned Flanders on the Simpsons, where him being religious was originally a side factor of his personality, and slowly became his defining characteristic.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 4:50 am

            I don’t think there is anything wrong with that because indeed, ‘Flanderization’ even happens to -real- people in -real- life. So him being ‘Flanderized’ could be viewed as quite normal development for the given charter they are trying to represent.

          • Berrick

            January 6, 2016 at 5:36 pm

            So, you’re suggesting that adding emotional reactions to a character who previously did not show emotions makes him less faceted. Your math doesn’t work there. No-emotions-ever= 1 side; whereas emotions-occasionally-and-no-emotions-usually= 2 sides. Besides, I always felt the attempts, from TOS on, to make the Vulcans emotionless really failed. They absolutely showed emotions; they just spoke their lines in a deadpan tone.

          • Christopher F.

            January 12, 2016 at 12:45 pm

            No, Spock had emotions but kept a tight reign on them, so that in the rare moments when he did let them slip were very special. It was the exclamation point to his character as a whole. Which becomes utterly worthless and destroys his entire character when it becomes the MAIN facet of his personality.

            New Spock was more an emotional being that occasionally managed to be logical, instead of the other way around. It was almost a complete 180 degree flip of what he should have been.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 4:38 am

            One could argue that the loss of the planet Vulcan early in his life had changed Spocks ’emotional’ development from the prime universe version. In the jj-verese it seems he never had the time (or the place) to go to in order to learn to get his emotions in check. I don’t know if that would constitute ‘ruining’ the character (more like ‘expanding upon’) as even the JJ-movies themselves confirm the Spock-Prime is still out there.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 6, 2016 at 3:57 pm

            Obviusly, you love “trek and furious”, that;s good for you, I’m happy you have something you enjoy. But it ain;t Star Trek.

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 2:58 am

      I strongly disagree with your idea that if a franchise disappoints you other measures beyond simple avoiding their products is reasonable…..Standing with axanar, if they are at fault, is folly at best……

      • Bob Bobberson

        December 31, 2015 at 4:56 am

        I believe there is an element of bad faith here. There is legal recourse, if the Axenar producers have already begun significant pre-production. They might not win, but they Paramount may not want the bad press of suing fans, or a potential boycott from a vocal fan base

        • maskddingo

          January 6, 2016 at 4:51 am

          Axanar is the only party acting in ‘bad-faith’ here by selling coffee branded with elements they do not own.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:13 am

      Go Christopher F. JJ wanted to turn Trek into Star Wars – now he has Star Wars and has dropped Trek. My feeling is JJ needed a big space production under his belt for his resume’ and vomited Star Trek 2009. Well you got Star Wars – please give us back our universe.

      • Christopher F.

        December 31, 2015 at 2:58 pm

        And don’t get me wrong here, I *LOVED* this new Star Wars, it hit all the right notes.

        My problem is that he tried to turn Star Trek into Star Wars, and there is a vast gulf between science fiction (Trek) and science fantasy (Wars). What works for Star Wars does not and cannot work for Star Trek.

    • athynz1

      December 31, 2015 at 8:48 am

      While I don’t share the dislike of the JJ Trek movies I fully agree with your assessment of CBS/Paramount. #IstandwithAxanar

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 4:52 am

        They brought this on themselves…

        #BlameAxanar

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:25 am

      I agree for the most part but you blame the wrong party in the end. Blame Axanar. They were not willing or able to work withing the framework that CBS allowed. They decided to use CBS IP on coffee to make a profit. They didn’t need to do this to get the movie done. The blame is squarely on the management at Axanar. Be angry with them please.

      You aren’t going to see Axanar by yelling and screaming at CBS, but you still have a chance if you can convince Axanar people to start playing by the rules others have no problem following.

    • Berrick

      January 6, 2016 at 5:40 pm

      I don’t see the parallel to the Star Wars films. I absolutely hated the SW prequels, but I found the JJ Abrams Trek films mildly entertaining. I guess I’m not a “true trekkie,” whatever that means.

  10. Christopher F.

    December 30, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    Petition to CBS to drop the suit:
    https://www.change.org/p/cbs-support-axanar

  11. OphidianJaguar

    December 30, 2015 at 3:43 pm

    I can’t FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!!! Almost threw my cup of coffee against the wall. CBS lays out rules for Axanar to follow, they follow it, no prob. November 2nd CBS announces a new Star Trek show in production for January 2017 and now CBS decides to take legal action. Why? Because Axanar is NOT profiting off this? Because Axanar is good publicity for Star Trek? Because Axanar is the Star Trek fans want to see? Because Axanar is in no way taking money away from CBS?

    ‪#‎IstandwithAxanar‬

    • Ian Tittle

      December 30, 2015 at 8:49 pm

      do you know what intellectual property means

      • Leonard

        December 30, 2015 at 9:26 pm

        CBS was kept completely in the loop as to the status of Axanar and could at any time have said, “Hmm … this will need licensing guys”. They chose to wait until Axanar is nearly ready to roll in with the heavy-handed legal approach and create the maximum damage and maximum potential for extracting money. Not that we should expect any sort of decency from the filth that is corporate USA.

        • James b

          December 31, 2015 at 3:03 am

          I said this earlier…no one, us common Joes, knows anything about the legalities that go on behind the scenes…..the fact is Axanar is reported to have violated CBS and other companies legal rights in regards to ST universe……How do you know CBS was kept in the loop? how do you know anything beyond the FACt the CBS/others own ST and have the right to do as they please with regards to their property……

          • Stephen Polasky

            December 31, 2015 at 7:29 am

            Paramount’s claim states ”The Axanar Works infringe Plaintiffs’ works by using innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes.” If this is their position, then yes, from the get-go, starting all the way back in 2010 pre-production Axanar was stepping on Paramount’s toes, and yet they didn’t say a thing until after the luke-warm reception of their own Star Trek announcement and just before the release of this one? And they didn’t have anything to say about the several other productions that have used Star Trek elements? And they were in the loop. The Axanar folks did communicate with Paramount regarding their intentions and made public their non-profit agreement.

      • athynz1

        December 30, 2015 at 10:37 pm

        Did you miss the part where CBS layed out rules to follow? Did you miss that other fan films had actors reprising their CBS-licensed roles in? Let me guess – you work for CBS’ legal department?

        • SoothsayerofDOOM

          December 31, 2015 at 3:16 am

          You can’t fault his argument – in just one sentence – all is answered. He must work for the CBS lawyer “GROSS” MAN.

      • SoothsayerofDOOM

        December 31, 2015 at 3:14 am

        Do you understand fair use?

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 3:00 am

      they followed their rules? Are you an insider to Axanar? While I am being argumentative there are several very well made fan films like Phase 2 and Continues that follow the rules…..they are doing just fine…….are you sure they followed all the rules? I wont go to Vegas on those odds but I could be wrong…..but nonetheless can they revoke fan film rights to one group of people and allow others?

      • Christopher F.

        December 31, 2015 at 3:01 pm

        He’s right, actually. Axanar has had constant meetings and interaction with the CBS staff to make sure they stayed within the fan film guideliness that CBS themselves put out.

        Those of us who donated to Axanar have actually been privy to details on some of those meetings.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:54 am

      They didn’t follow the rule: “Don’t make money” when they decided to merchandise coffee branded with CBS IP on an e-commerce website. No wonder the hammer came down.

      Why would they need to market coffee when they have raised $1 million from fans? It’s unnecessary and it probably caused all of this.

      #BlameAxanar

      • Bob Bobberson

        January 6, 2016 at 4:02 pm

        Nice hashtag, JJ

  12. Joe D.

    December 30, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    It makes no sense… There is no way this can hurt potential income CBS has from the Star Trek franchise, it can only help.

    • Christopher F.

      December 31, 2015 at 3:02 pm

      It hurts their rebranding of the franchise from science fiction into “Explodey Space Action with Titties!” that gets Joe Schmoe’s butt in a theater seat for 2 hours.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 4:59 am

      They are freaking selling coffee (for profit) that is branded with CBS IP without a license. That hurts them because when people who are actually paying licensing fees to sell star-trek branded goods find out, they will be pissed. Face it… Axanar effed up. They were likely warned and they (apparently) said f-u to CBS… Hence the lawsuit.

  13. Neurotic

    December 30, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    It is all moot now. The lawyers have entered the fray and Axanar is now living on borrowed time. 🙁

    • IndyCarFan

      December 30, 2015 at 5:28 pm

      IF Axanar goes down, all the other projects will go down as well, they cant single out just Axanar.

      • James b

        December 31, 2015 at 3:05 am

        really? I would beg to differ…….They can offer privileges to anyone and deny to anyone….I am no lawyer but that only makes common sense. Since none of the others is going down presently logic would seem to dictate that AXANAR broke the rules somehow…..

        • SoothsayerofDOOM

          December 31, 2015 at 3:48 am

          Common sense says Paramount and CBS shouldn’t have killed off the series in the first place and then call foul when a not for profit under fair use produces something that will give their vomit a run for its money. I have read the document that they are using – Renegades GUILTY, GODS and MEN GUILTY! Star Trek is a trademark – ST Continues GUILTY. Logic says if one is guilty or must be guilty in the realm of Trademarks and IP rights.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 5:07 am

            I’m not sure if you are aware (in-fact, I’m sure you aren’t), but Axanar has absolutely gone above and beyond what is acceptable as a fan film… indeed they may have ruined it for everyone. Hardly an accomplishment worthy of praise, or support.

            #BlameAxanar

        • Bob Bobberson

          December 31, 2015 at 5:03 am

          But if they’re denying Axenar (without provable cause) after they previously gave it a go-ahead, and significant pre-poduction is underway, Paramount could be sued. They could kill future productions, to be sure, But axenar could still get made. Bad press of a lawsuit with fans, could go a long way to make Paramount drop this.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:05 am

        The other project will only go down if Axanar takes on a scorched earth policy. Their apparent strategy of saying ‘well other people do it’ in their defense might ultimately lead to everything getting shut down.. However, ‘well other people do it’ doesn’t apply to their coffee distribution venture (which i believe to be at the heart of this). other people certainly don’t do that.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 4:31 am

      Not just any lawyer – GROSS MAN

      • Neurotic

        December 31, 2015 at 5:17 am

        Quick, to the legalmobile, Gross Man! *music*

  14. IndyCarFan

    December 30, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    CBS knows that Axanar is better than the millions they are putting into that disaster that is JJCrap. CBS would be smart to listen to these fan made projects, reduced cost and making good quality. You want your service to launch based on attacking and suing Axanar?

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:09 am

      It’s Axanar’s fault with their bone-headed coffee venture.

      #BlameAxanar

      • Bob Bobberson

        January 6, 2016 at 4:16 pm

        Coffee, Coffee, Coffee. You actually might need to lay off coffee, you seem over caffinated.

        This is all Paramount’s fault for making films that are complete ass.

  15. Joe D.

    December 30, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    If Axanar is allowed to be released we need to boycott CBS.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:17 am

      Don’t you mean NOT allowed

      • Christopher F.

        December 31, 2015 at 3:04 pm

        “If Axanar isn’t allowed to be released we need to boycott CBS”.

        Unless he edited it after you posted, his grammar is correct.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:09 am

      What in the world would you be watching on CBS anyway? I’ve been ‘boycotting’ them for almost 2 decades because they can’t produce anything worth watching.

  16. Dasjerm

    December 30, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    Bah, Paramount/CBS just wants attention. Star Wars is crushing everything in sight and Trek has become some petulant child crying in the corner looking for approval. Beyond looks silly and this new CBS show will probably suck. Frankly this Axanar thing looks horrible. “Fans” want this thing? Looks as boring as the Star Wars prequels, hell Trek has it’s own Jar Jar – they call him Shat.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:18 am

      They actually call him Jar Jar Abrams.

    • Christopher F.

      December 31, 2015 at 3:08 pm

      Doesn’t really matter if the new show sucks are is brilliant, it won’t make it past the first season because CBS is locking it behind their proprietary streaming service pay wall. Anyone tech savvy enough to subscribe to that is savvy enough to just pirate the episodes.

      I would happily watch the series if they aired it with commercials. I’m not going to be held hostage to their second rate “Only stuff we own” Netflix/Hulu knock-off service over it.

      I, and I expect many, many others will simply pirate the show and CBS will get nothing for it. And after this, I won’t even feel bad for it.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:15 am

        “Anyone tech savvy enough to subscribe to that is savvy enough to just pirate the episodes.”

        For the most part I think that is true. Although, I can guarantee you my parents would have a better shot of bringing up CBS on-demand than scouring the Internet for a pirated version (let alone knowing what to do when they found it). So I think there will be a significant amount of people that will actually pay for it (as it’s likely not going to be very expensive compared to cable.)

        I still don’t see how anyone can blame CBS in this. Axanar was absolutely using their IP for profit in selling coffee.

  17. Ian Tittle

    December 30, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    well david is going to lose this one big time

    • James b

      December 31, 2015 at 3:06 am

      I am leaning towards agreeing…..he/they did something wrong…….Sadly the ones who loose the most are the funders….most of that loot is spent or in equipment I would guess…how do they repay this….karma?

      • athynz1

        December 31, 2015 at 8:55 am

        How do you know this? Are you familiar with the legalities of the situation? Just because CBS is suing does not mean they are in the wrong.

        • Downtroden Majority

          December 31, 2015 at 10:40 pm

          This is a gallery of Internet legal scholars. We don’t need all the facts. We really don’t need any facts. Just the headline and we will try it as is. Seriously, I think waiting for some facts would be a good idea. At this point either scenario is as possible as the other.

  18. Alex McCoy

    December 30, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    What a bunch of greedy little bastards they are!
    The franchise stopped giving a damn about the fans a long time ago!
    The new movies done by the “Hack” JJ Abrams are proof of it!
    This looks way better than any Star Trek reboot I have seen so far!
    A big (Finger) to CBS!

  19. DuckingGold

    December 30, 2015 at 9:44 pm

    Good, the thieves got what they deserved.

    • athynz1

      December 30, 2015 at 10:38 pm

      What thieves? Did you somehow miss that CBS laid out rules for Axanar to follow?

      • Thomas Keefe

        December 31, 2015 at 12:22 am

        And that they are not using a single cent for profit, every bit of they money they got was for production and distribution costs. CBS laid out the rules for the various fan films. The only thieves I see are CBS for stealing from a not for profit group that is doing something good, and with good quality effects (no lens flares…lol)

        • James b

          December 31, 2015 at 3:08 am

          do you really know what is going on behind the scenes? Other then what facebook is telling you? I am open minded but common sense leads me to believe that Axanar broke the rules…..

          • SoothsayerofDOOM

            December 31, 2015 at 3:49 am

            Do you think CBS knows what is happening behind the scenes? Maybe their accountants just gave the forecast for Beyond after it was moved back.

        • Bob Bobberson

          December 31, 2015 at 5:12 am

          what has them freaked out is that enough money was raised that the production might actually look professional. They know the old school fans hate the reboot, they want to make sure the vocal fan base doesn’t has an opposing vision of trek they can champion rather than the Abramsverse.

          • maskddingo

            January 6, 2016 at 5:33 am

            Oh yeah. That has them -so- freaked out… I’m not pulling any more punches here… Your argument is freaking stupid. Not even in the mirror universe would Axanar even come close to impacting the success of STB.

            I do agree with your premise about old school fans not liking JJ-world, but have you even seen Axanar? I don’t think it’s even started filming (though it should have). Maybe it’ll be just as bad… If the quality of what they (eventually?) put out has any relation to their project management skills, It doesn’t bode well.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 6, 2016 at 3:50 pm

            You think it’s stupid that That i’m saying they don’t want a competing vision? then why re they filing suit? why now? And have you seen STID? that’s a very low bar for Axana to overcome in terms of quality story telling.

          • Bob Bobberson

            January 7, 2016 at 6:57 am

            it may not impact it financially, but it wouldn’t be hard to make something more watchable than jar jar abrams.

        • maskddingo

          January 6, 2016 at 5:23 am

          That can’t be true…. They are in league with a company that is producing coffee labeled with CBS IP. Someone (other than CBS) is making money off of that.

          I want to see the movie made.. but Axanar people clearly effed up here. Can’t blame CBS one bit. They said ‘follow the rules’. Axanar said ‘NO’.

          #BlameAxanar

          • Thomas Keefe

            January 8, 2016 at 3:13 pm

            What nonsense are you talking about? Coffee? I never heard about that, and I want to see the sources for it. I want articles, press, video, something besides this.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:21 am

        …and Axanar broke them…

        • athynz1

          January 6, 2016 at 1:53 pm

          Which ones? Reading over the complaints in the lawsuit the very same suit could be filed against anyone who made any sort of fan film. Next.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:25 am

      Who are the thieves – the same money-fronting fans that were so desperate for some Trek that they went in droves (reluctantly) to suck on the teats of Jar Jar Abrams in the hopes that this would give their beloved show life.
      Only to experience a mindmeld with a gone-off sardine whose last thought was on when to have another bowel movement obviously INTO DARKNESS.
      So the fans called for a fan made production – again put money out for it to be produced just like Renegades and Gods or Men or New Voyages or ST Continues and then got what WE deserved – shafted.
      The thieves in this case are the fans – how many of you are there?
      This is how your comment reads, “Good, the thieving fans got what they deserved.”
      I need to go duck hunting.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:35 am

        The people at Axanar Let you down with their coffee business venture. #BlameAxanar

  20. Dennis Lin

    December 30, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    I do not think CBS will win much money from Axanar, They are just suing for the publicity of their new Trek show that is coming out in 2017 #IstandWithAxanar

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:36 am

      No, they are suing to set president so that no other fan-production ever has the gal to try to sell for-profit coffee that is branded with unlicensed CBS IP.

      #BlameAxanar

  21. Nick Coombs

    December 30, 2015 at 11:35 pm

    somehow i see this released as a story of galaxy quest.

  22. Mike Bawden

    December 31, 2015 at 1:04 am

    You can read Axanar’s official response to the lawsuit here … https://bit.ly/AXNRlawsuit

  23. Malphius

    December 31, 2015 at 1:31 am

    Time for Trek Fans to move over to Babylon 5 anyways. It’s clear CBS and JJ have driven a stake through the heart of it.

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:34 am

      Normally it is the hero putting the stake into the Vampire but in this case the Vampire is CBS – curdling blood suckers and the hero are the fans who are begging for their show back. If we leave it alone for twenty years – don’t watch the reruns, wait for Beyond to flop – and Paramount to go out of business – then we can buy the rights for a $1.

  24. James b

    December 31, 2015 at 2:48 am

    I support fan films but only to the letter that they support the rights of the copyright holders……other fan films tread lightly….The complaint claims that ”The Axanar Works infringe Plaintiffs’ works by using innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes.” It appears Axanar went too far…..and now the embolden themselves when in reality they are definitely in the wrong. Should Istandwithaxanar really say Istandwithcopyrightinfringement.??…I hope the can get together and work this out but I am firmly in the court of the legal owners and the idea that there are rules to be followed and if they were broken…..consequences……sadly the biggest loosers are the private individuals who will loose out on cash they funded for this……

    • SoothsayerofDOOM

      December 31, 2015 at 3:31 am

      So what about Renegades and Gods or Men. Original actors continuing original roles. By this same logic – all fan made films should be banned, including the Star Wars ones getting awards.

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:40 am

        The logic is that these other productions you mentioned didn’t enter into a for-profit arrangement to sell coffee branded with CBS IP they didn’t not obtain a license for. The folks at Axanar should have known better. They failed us all.

        #BlameAxanar

  25. CubanWriter .

    December 31, 2015 at 8:43 am

  26. Misty Mills

    December 31, 2015 at 9:28 am

    I’m going to make a few important statements as someone who produces a Trek fan series:

    Despite
    the money raised going to production costs, the fact remains that there
    was still money being given to a Star Trek production by fans. It
    doesn’t matter how the money is spent or by whom, it is a violation to
    have done this.

    Yes, other productions have used crowdfunding in
    the past and haven’t been hit with a lawsuit/C&D, but that doesn’t
    mean they weren’t breaking the rules. It just means that CBS/Paramount
    did not go after them. Perhaps it was because it was a much smaller
    amount (Axanar has over a million dollars of fan money right now, most
    fan productions would have been happy with two grand). Perhaps it was
    because the production values on most fan productions are lower (often
    intentionally so). Having high production values that could rival the
    legitimate Trek productions has always been something the community has
    tried to avoid for the most part. It’s a fine line between professional
    quality and high-level fan film quality. If you look at it and
    immediately think it might be a trailer for a new Trek film or series,
    you’ve done something wrong.

    I fully support all fan productions,
    including Axanar. I do not, however, support or condone when
    productions do things that break the rules and jeopardize the hard work
    of fan productions that haven’t broken any rules and work hard to not
    break any, even when it makes production very difficult. We’ve lost
    actors who have gone SAG. Could we have crowdfunded to be able to pay
    them? Probably, but that’s against the rules. It’s against the LAW. So
    we didn’t. We rewrote storylines or recast roles. The production team
    has sunk their own money into the episodes. The cast paid for their own
    uniforms. None of us are rich people and any cent of money we could spare
    we put into the costs of the production.

    I also need to make a
    very important point: Anyone who says CBS or Paramount don’t care about
    fans clearly hasn’t done any homework. Not only have they allowed us to
    use their IP for fan productions and been relatively supportive of them,
    they even invited Michael Gummelt of Star Trek Beyond
    to pitch his idea to Paramount for a new television series (Star Trek
    Uncharted) back in June of this year. Does this sound like an evil
    conglomerate that hates fans? In fact, the Axanar production already
    lost at least one actor a while ago because he knew it would get them in
    trouble to do crowdfunding.

    Don’t be angry at CBS and Paramount
    for protecting themselves when someone else broke the law. I’m also not
    saying to be mad at Axanar for putting together the project, just be mad that they ignored the rules that most of us have been playing by for years.

    I
    wish Axanar the best. Hopefully this can be resolved quickly and
    painlessly. I will be watching this closely because of how it impacts my
    life and a series I’ve produced. I selfishly hope that Axanar simply
    closes up shop on this production and pays the money back to the fans
    because other resolutions will have a more direct impact on me and my
    series.

    I love that Axanar has fans, but anyone who claims to be a
    Star Trek fan and doesn’t want CBS/Paramount to protect their IP
    confuses me. You can support fan productions, but you can’t not support
    the owner of the IP who is still putting out things under this banner.

    TL;DR
    version: Hopefully we get this resolved, but you can’t blame someone
    for protecting their IP. I just hope it doesn’t get ALL fan productions
    shut down.

  27. BTW

    December 31, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    #istandwithgettingpermissiontousesomeoneelsesshit

    • Christopher F.

      December 31, 2015 at 2:59 pm

      #IStandWithTheyHadTheTacitApprovalForAFanFilmFromCBSAndOnlyLostItBecauseCBSThoughtItStartedLookingTooGood

    • athynz1

      December 31, 2015 at 3:21 pm

      Let me guess – you must be part of the Loeb and Loeb legal team. Isn’t this sort of behavior a conflict of interest? #theyhadpermissionandrulestofollowfromCBS #dosomebasicresearch

      • maskddingo

        January 6, 2016 at 5:45 am

        #TheyBrokeTheRulesCBSAskedThemToFollowBySellingForProfitCoffeeUsingCBSIP

        #BlameAxanar

  28. Paulo R. Mendes

    December 31, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    Cursed be the executives at CBS.

    • aprilvalleyaugast

      February 16, 2016 at 7:12 pm

      Alex peter was charging way over his budget

      that’s why we should never pay into Alex peter

      and that’ way the lawyers are trying to shut Alex peter down

      • Paulo R. Mendes

        February 17, 2016 at 7:05 am

        Humm… I understood.

  29. bellwether

    December 31, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    There is some reddit chatter about funds going to build Ares Studios too.
    Which, is a business expansion for profit making ventures.
    “…and other Sci-Fi projects. (Robert Burnett and I have already acquired the
    rights to a fantastic book series by David Gerrold.)”
    https://www.axanarproductions.com/ares-studios-launches/

  30. Karl Grosvenor

    January 1, 2016 at 7:13 am

    It’s all about greed and nothing else those people responsible should be ashamed of themselves!

  31. Da Han

    January 1, 2016 at 9:37 am

    There is a ‘Fair Use’ issue at the core of this. Unless otherwise proven, by the plaintiffs, no documented profit has been made. What’s more, if one considers the sheer number of fan books like the Star Trek Compendium published for profit (‘for education purposes only’) then one can see that fan films in essence are no different in that they are simply another form of digital publication.

    17 U.S.C. § 107

    Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

    the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

    the nature of the copyrighted work;

    the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

    the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

    The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

    This is the real reason PAR has done nothing to stop fanfilms. Because they know they cannot unless there is recorded profiteering. And even then, ‘fair use’ protects educational publication of copyrighted property.

    • Sam Anders

      January 1, 2016 at 8:03 pm

      This is not an issue of “Fair Use”. This is straight up IP infringement. These assholes are even selling coffee with stolen CBS/Paramount IP. They built a for-profit studio with donor money and haven’t even finished a single set/cast the film, and you think it’s already the greatest gift to the Trek Universe? Delusional. MILLIONS of people will see ST:B and LOVE it. Nobody gives a crap about a fan film where the producer casts HIMSELF as the lead. https://www.axanarcoffee.com/

      • Da Han

        January 23, 2016 at 4:18 am

        I personally prefer ST:C to anything out there including JJverse because I’m a TOS purist. So ‘greatest gift’? Nope. I do however think this is not a simple open and shut case. We need to let the courts decide, and cut the libelous B.S.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:52 am

      This site: https://www.axanarcoffee.com

      …destroys anything you tried to say.

      It is not ‘fair use’ to take a CBS owned Qo’noS matt-painting (for example) and use it to brand coffee you and you business partner are selling for-profit.

  32. Christopher Dalton

    January 1, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    I don’t blame CBS/Paramount for filing that lawsuit. Alec Peters should have known better. But, due to his foolishness and egotism, he has not only ruined his own production, he has also placed other fan films in jeopardy of being cancelled by CBS/Paramount.

    I don’t care if Star Trek Continues, Starship Ajax, and the Star Trek Anthology gets cancelled, but I really don’t want to see New Voyages and Farragut get the axe because of Peters’ stupidity.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:57 am

      New Voyages? Why? They never put out any episodes. I think we’ve been waiting almost 4 years for “The Holiest Thing”. They pretty much axed themselves. The new Kirk they got can’t hold a candle to Elvis… anyway… I don’t think they would even be on CBS’s radar now, so you should be good.

  33. Edohiguma

    January 2, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    Who cares? It’s just Star Trek, where military dictatorship is celebrated as great and unelected senators rule everything.

    Show me where any of the TV shows featured elections. TOS never did. The whole next generation thing was a homo sapiens club where the military is in charge of people’s lives. Starfleet that does everything (including police work, which throws the separation of military and police completely out the window) and the so called “senate” controls all politics and in order to become a senator characters get appointed (for their “wisdom” or similar wishy-washy nonsense), not elected.

    That’s an “utopia” I piss on.

    Garbage old franchise is still garbage and old. Let it rest in pieces.

    • Bob Bobberson

      January 20, 2016 at 2:39 am

      Um I think you’re on the wrong thread. You must be thinking of Star Wars.

      “The President of the United Federation of Planets is the democratically elected head of state and head of government of the United Federation of Planets. As leader of the Federation, the president is widely considered the most powerful person in the known Alpha and Beta Quadrants.”

  34. jacko116

    January 2, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    Why all the fight… wouldn’t everyone get along better if CBS and Paramount recognize the incredible job done by the Axanar guys and chip in for a better production?!

    this is really stupid… the BIG ones forget that the lack of a Star Trek Series since Enterprise (and ten years later) fans wouldn’t do anything in their hands to keep Gene Roddenberry’s dream alive? And for what is worth, wouldn’t Axanar (at no cost to CBS and Paramount) help their marketing for their new film Star Trek Film and the supposed 2017 new series?

    It seems that someone in the Finance/Marketing/Production departments of both media giants are not doing their algebra correctly… (I bet they can get anyone from NASA for free to crunch the numbers for them.)

    Live Long and Prosper

    ..:::END TRANSMISSION:::..

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 5:59 am

      Incredible work = praise.

      Incredible work + trying to sell unlicensed coffee branded with CBS IP for your own gain = lawsuit.

      Oh BTW… we are still waiting on that ‘incredible work’ that should have been done by now.

  35. jacko116

    January 2, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    Why all the fight… wouldn’t everyone get along better if CBS and
    Paramount recognize the incredible job done by the Axanar guys and chip
    in for a better production?!

    this is really stupid… the BIG ones
    forget that the lack of a Star Trek Series since Enterprise (and ten
    years later) fans wouldn’t do anything in their hands to keep Gene
    Roddenberry’s dream alive? And for what is worth, wouldn’t Axanar (at no
    cost to CBS and Paramount) help their marketing for their new film Star
    Trek Film and the supposed 2017 new series?

    It seems that someone
    in the Finance/Marketing/Production departments of both media giants
    are not doing their algebra correctly… (I bet they can get anyone from
    NASA for free to crunch the numbers for them.)

    Live Long and Prosper

    ..:::END TRANSMISSION:::..

  36. Joel Masters

    January 2, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    I so support Axanar CBS is just wanting there take of your $. Hell if they can sue for bull shit can we sue because CBS/Paramount hasn’t made a new trek series it’ll be 11yrs now and because there movies seem to just suck.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 6:03 am

      Axanar also wants your money… Maybe more than CBS.
      Point is… CBS has a right to getting a cut for this property if it’s making money for someone (as it most certainly is via axnarcoffeee.com).

  37. Berrick

    January 3, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    There are a lot of red herrings in the responses here.
    It doesn’t matter whether you liked the Abrams Trek movies or not.
    It doesn’t matter whether CBS has created Trek series you enjoyed, or enough to satisfy your desires for them in the past few decades.
    It doesn’t matter whether you would prefer the Axanar film to the upcoming Trek movie.
    I loved the “Prelude” fictional documentary and was looking forward to the film, but I also have enjoyed the JJ Abrams Trek movies; I know that’s blasphemy to the stubborn Trek-classicists who think they have some moral right to dictate what someone does with the Trek fictional universe.
    I also have some bad news for all those crying “boycott.” People who have ever heard of Axanar are so few that CBS/Paramount will not lose significant profit from a boycott.
    I do wish CBS/Paramount would allow this film to go ahead, but someone in the comments suggested that the Axanar team has used some of its fundraising to build a for-profit studio, making this situation much more complicated.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 6:04 am

      A RATIONAL PERSON!

      If I could, I’d thumb-you-up twice… (not in an sexual way).

  38. Robert

    January 4, 2016 at 4:22 pm

    So, rock tribute bands play on stage , they actually make money, sell cds, t shirts . And every thing is fine in the world of music. What we have here is, corporate greed plain and simple. CBS knows that these fan made trek shows are getting better by the show with more appearance by original star trek actors. And they are starting to get nervous because when you can get over one million hits on you tube for a 21min trailer which was out standing on a budget next to nothing is concerning for them.

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 6:13 am

      No… CBS is not nervous at all. It’s hardly a concern… If the new reality is that you can make a trailer that awes people on the cheap, then CBS will adopt that paradigm and make trailers on the cheap. They certainly have the ability to do so.

      The problem (ok… ‘one’ of the problems) here is that Axanar is selling coffee that is branded with CBS IP. I’m sure CBS would be ok of they paid licensing fees, but Axanar is not working in good-faith in that respect and instead pushing the boundaries of the law. In doing so, they have provoked CBS to make a response. That response is predicable: A lawsuit intended to stop the violation.

  39. next bubble

    January 4, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    The Axanar team has posted a letter from David Gerrold (writer of “The Trouble with Tribbles” on the topic: https://www.axanarproductions.com/david-gerrold-on-cbs-vs-axanar-part-1/

    • maskddingo

      January 6, 2016 at 6:20 am

      I read what he said about working with fan films to license things. It’s very rational… I would agree that there is enough desire and mutual benefit there to hash out a more legitimate framework for these fan-works to exist. However, this is what is so troubling about Axanar and where we are today. They -failed- to even try to obtain the available license for marketing star trek merch (the coffee) they probably could have obtained given how much they raised. I’m not sure if this was the catalyst to it all or not, but it’s the one major, obvious, violation. If they can’t respect that, what’s to make us believe they would act in good faith if CBS actually had a fan-film license arrangement for Star Trek?

  40. Shadowkey392

    January 6, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    BULL*****T!!!! Axanar has done NOTHING but play by the rules this entire time, Paramount! So back off, or we (the Trekkies) will make sure you get not even a cent when Star Trek: Beyond comes out! This is what we WANT, Paramount! Do NOT get in our way! This is your ONLY warning!

  41. vaughn durant

    January 8, 2016 at 2:39 am

    How very Ferengi of CBS/Paramount. They are shooting themselves in the foot with this lawsuit. Depriving fans of what they want will surely backfire. A high quality fan fiction movie will only stoke the fires of Trek interest. It’s a big Universe and fans can’t get enough of it. CBS will NOT lose viewership if Axanar is released. But bad feelings could lose them bigtime. Here’s something to think about CBS…
    John Wanamaker found an employee in a
    dispute with a customer. She wanted a blouse that was being sold only
    with a skirt. The clerk was insisting they only came together. Wanamaker
    walked over to the clerk and whispered in his ear the secret of
    marketing: “Give the lady what she wants.”

  42. Bemyguest

    February 9, 2016 at 8:17 pm

    All these studio jerks care about is money. Ergo it would be a shame for them if fans skipped out on the next Star Trek film.
    You listening Paramount?

  43. Vlad Vondoom

    March 5, 2016 at 9:34 am

    My legal advice. First file a motion to dismiss for latches. Paramount knew of Axanar since at least 2012. Their complete inaction is a bar to suing at a later date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laches_%28equity%29

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