Star Trek Axanar Lawsuit Settled

The long saga of the Axanar lawsuit has come to an end. The production for a relatively expensive fan film that got sued by CBS and Paramount has ended in a settlement with Axanar Production and producer Alec Peters. While all the details were not released, basically Peters agreed to admit to "overreaching" in making the film and whatever he ends up producing will follow the Fan Film Guidelines. Peters likely threw in the towel once it finally sunk in that the court earlier this month effectively decided Axanar was guilty of infringement and the upcoming trial was really about having a jury decide what the monetary punishment should be.

If interested, you can read all the details at TrekMovie.com. For casual fans, this whole saga doesn't mean a thing. The impact on all things Trek is basically zero. However for the die hard fans, those that cosplay, go to conventions, re-watch episodes over and over, surf Trek forums, the impact is probably much more pronounced.

FThe main takeaway from all of this is Star Trek fan films are effectively dead. Technically CBS and Paramount still allow them but that is an illusion at best as the guidelines are strict enough that basically only a backyard film is feasible. In theory experienced actors, directors, and film crew could make a short video but they should only do it if they do not care about the risk of being blacklisted from ever working on a CBS and Paramount produced Trek production in the future. With the start of a new series this year, I do not see any willing to take that risk.

The future of the planned Axanar film is unknown. One option is to give up and not make the film. The problem with that is $1.4 million in donations were raised, money that has mostly been spent so a refund is a non-starter. A lawsuit to get it back would enrich the lawyers but no one else. So I suspect that Peters will make a fan guideline allowed two part Axanar short films that meet the "spirt" of what was promised. However, it will be done without any of the professional assistance he had lined up and so the end result will be like nothing that was promised before this whole debacle began.

Star Trek Axanar Court Case Major Decision, Jury Trial Set

Yesterday Paramount and CBS received some good news as the Axanar fan film case turned a corner. The California judge wrote "Under the extrinsic test, the Axanar Works are substantially similar to the Star Trek Copyrighted Works. This conclusion finds strong support in Defendants’ intent for the Axanar Works. 'Defendants expressly set out to create an authentic and independent Star Trek film that [stayed] true to Star Trek canon down to excruciating details.'". Basically this decides for Paramount and CBS that they have "broad copyright protections" for all elements of Star Trek and that Axanar's case of fair use is not a valid defense.

While this seems to pretty much end the case, in reality there is a second issue that was pushed to a jury trial for end of January. The trial will be to decide if Axanar Productions and its owner Alec Peters "willfully" infringed on the Star Trek copyright. This will heavily rely on the "so-called intrinsic test that asks whether an ordinary, reasonable person would find the total concept and feel of the works to be substantially similar." In effect the trial is so the jury can decide if Axanar Productions may pay damages or not to Paramount and CBS and if so how much.

Considering fan films, but especially Axanar, are intentionally written, designed and filmed to fit into known continuity of Star Trek by recreating locations, characters, costumes, ships, over all look and feel, it seems the "intrinsic test" portion of the case is already decided. The only real decision is how much damages Axanar will have to pay. The defense that CBS and Paramount didn't use the courts to stop previous fan videos of anything Star Trek related seems like a very weak defense and sadly has been mitigated by new rules caused by the Axanar lawsuit that effectively banned fan films and shorts. It seems if Peters doesn't settle, he is rolling the dice on hoping that a demonstrated love of the franchise might be enough to win jury sympathy so the amount of damages is low enough to end the trial mostly unscathed.

At this point it seems settlement is a no-brainer. Up to now the impression I have had is Paramount and CBS would have settled if Axanar made certain unknown concessions but Alec Peters was determined to push forward. Even now, he has posted a statement indicating that "depending on the outcome of the trial, Axanar may choose to appeal the verdict to the Ninth Circuit." Proving willful intent can be tricky and if this film, like other fan films, showed zero profit motive, there might be a solid argument to be made. However part of the reason Paramount and CBS sued (outside of starting their own new TV series) is in this case the money raised from Star Trek fans to make Axanar was used to buy (not rent) a studio for use not just Axanar but future non-Trek endeavors indicating a profit motive which has long been an understood line in the sand for fan productions. I am not a lawyer but this case is a slam dunk. Even a first month law student could win this case for Paramount and CBS. You can find more detailed legal analysis here.

CBS, Paramount Files Star Trek Copyright Lawsuit to End Fan Films

It looks like an end of an era as Star Trek fan films are probably going to come to an end. CBS Entertainment and Paramount Pictures have sued a production company for copyright infringement for their crowd funded film Axanar. The lawsuit is seeking millions against the production company and producer Alec Peters due to their plans for the $1 million film that raised its funds via Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Star Trek films have been around for a while now but over the last five years have grown in ambition due to dropping costs in special effects (at least to achieve an Original Series look), Hollywood crew's willingness to bring their expertise at lower rates for chance to work on the projects and previous Star Trek actors embracing the films by either promoting them, directing them or acting in them. Pretty much everyone knows that the films and related projects exist by the grace of CBS and Paramount and in an effort to not step in their territory they have gone to pains to avoid profit from their efforts. In effect some fans paid to make something so that all fans could enjoy it for free. CBS and Paramount tolerated the practice because happy Star Trek fans meant happy merchandise and ticket buyers which means profits which makes for happy CBS and Paramount executives.