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author_author [2017/10/27 19:46] – [Excess Inventory] adds highlighting Carlos Pedrazaauthor_author [2018/05/19 18:32] (current) – [Donors' Money Paid for Merchandise] edit to correct Carlos Pedraza
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 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
-====== Website Sells Axanar Patches for Big Potential Profits ======+====== Website Sells Axanar Merchandise for Big Potential Profits ======
  
 //**Seller Claims No Affiliation with Axanar Productions and that Peters Discarded the Items**// //**Seller Claims No Affiliation with Axanar Productions and that Peters Discarded the Items**//
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-**AN ALABAMA** bookseller website has begun selling allegedly abandoned Axanar Productions [[merchandise]] potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, claiming no affiliation with the company, and that lawyers cleared the items for sale despite the copyright infringement cloud over Axanar's operations.+**AN ALABAMA** website has begun selling allegedly abandoned Axanar Productions [[merchandise]] potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, claiming no affiliation with the company, and that lawyers cleared the items for sale despite the copyright infringement cloud over Axanar's operations. 
 + 
 +<wrap lo>//See also: <wrap em>UPDATE</wrap> [[soundtrack_pulled|Bookseller Pulls Axanar Merchandise]]//</wrap>
  
 [{{ ::author_author_bookstore_books_author_deep_discount.jpg?direct&300|**AXA-STUFF** Merchandise created with Axanar donors' money offers a profit-making opportunity for someone else.}}] [{{ ::author_author_bookstore_books_author_deep_discount.jpg?direct&300|**AXA-STUFF** Merchandise created with Axanar donors' money offers a profit-making opportunity for someone else.}}]
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 ==== Donors' Money Paid for Merchandise ==== ==== Donors' Money Paid for Merchandise ====
  
-According to his financial statements, Axanar producer Alec Peters spent at least $25,142 on producing [[perks]] for his donors, even though almost all the promised perks depended on production of the //Axanar// feature film, now prohibited by the [[axanar_settles|settlement]] of the [[copyright infringement]] [[lawsuit]] against him brought by Star Trek owners [[CBS]] and [[Paramount Pictures]].+According to his financial statements, Axanar producer Alec Peters spent at least $25,142 on producing [[perks]] for his donors, even though the most popular promised perks depended on production of the //Axanar// feature film, now prohibited by the [[axanar_settles|settlement]] of the [[copyright infringement]] [[lawsuit]] against him brought by Star Trek owners [[CBS]] and [[Paramount Pictures]].
  
 Contributors' money instead went to produce patches and other [[merchandise]] offered for sale on the Axanar website's Donor Store. Merchandise sales — including coffee, books, posters, clothing, Blu-rays DVDs and especially patches — drawing from Star Trek intellectual property was one of the chief criticisms of Axanar during the copyright lawsuit. Contributors' money instead went to produce patches and other [[merchandise]] offered for sale on the Axanar website's Donor Store. Merchandise sales — including coffee, books, posters, clothing, Blu-rays DVDs and especially patches — drawing from Star Trek intellectual property was one of the chief criticisms of Axanar during the copyright lawsuit.
  
-How much revenue was produced by Axanar's Donor Store has never been disclosed by Peters.+No detailed accounting of revenue produced by Axanar's Donor Store has ever been disclosed by Peters.
  
-That online store was shut down in the aftermath of the copyright settlement, leaving Peters saddled with thousands of items for which he had to [[indiegogo_halt|raise more money]] to move from his failed Industry Studios to his new location in [[atlanta_move|Lawrenceville, Ga]].+That online store was shut down in the aftermath of the copyright settlement, leaving Peters saddled with thousands of items for which he had to [[indiegogo_halt|raise more money]] to move from his failed Industry Studios outside Los Angeles to his new location in [[atlanta_move|Lawrenceville, Ga]].
  
 [{{ ::laura-hayden-inventory.jpg?300|**TAKING STOCK** Author, Author!'s Laura Beard Hayden attended Axanar's October 21, 2017, open house, where she appeared to take inventory of merchandise she was to sell on her website.}}] [{{ ::laura-hayden-inventory.jpg?300|**TAKING STOCK** Author, Author!'s Laura Beard Hayden attended Axanar's October 21, 2017, open house, where she appeared to take inventory of merchandise she was to sell on her website.}}]
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-//**__« This was vetted by the original lawyers involved in the CBS/Paramount case. »__**// <wrap indent>— //Laura Hayden Beard, Author, Author! Bookseller//</wrap>+//**__« This was vetted by the original lawyers involved in the CBS/Paramount case. »__**// <wrap indent>— //Laura Beard Hayden, Author, Author! Bookseller//</wrap>
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
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 [{{::back-cover-comparison.png?nolink|**NO MORE STAR TREK** After claiming no merchandise referred to Star Trek, an actual reference to Star Trek on the //Prelude// soundtrack appeared to have been scrubbed from the Author, Author! website.}}] [{{::back-cover-comparison.png?nolink|**NO MORE STAR TREK** After claiming no merchandise referred to Star Trek, an actual reference to Star Trek on the //Prelude// soundtrack appeared to have been scrubbed from the Author, Author! website.}}]
  
-[{{ ::axanar-idic-patch-1.jpg?200|**ANOTHER ITEM** for sale includes the Vulcan IDIC symbol.}}]+/* [{{ ::axanar-idic-patch-1.jpg?200|**ANOTHER ITEM** for sale includes the Vulcan IDIC symbol.}}] */
  
-However, at least two pieces of merchandise did, including the //Prelude// soundtrack, whose back cover as displayed on Hayden's website on October 26 included the words, "Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry." By October 27, that image [[http://www.author-author.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=25858|was replaced]] with one in which those words no longer appeared.+[{{ ::actual_prelude_cd.jpg?direct&300|**THE ACTUAL CD** features an additional Star Trek reference, to Axanar's now-defunct Web address, contrary to the image used to sell the product. <wrap lo>//Click image to view full-size.//</wrap>}}]
  
-Also, one of the patches displayed the copyrighted Vulcan IDIC symbol.+However, at least two pieces of merchandise did, including the //Prelude// soundtrack, whose back cover as displayed on Hayden's website on October 26 included the words, "Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry," and Axanar's now-defunct Web address, www.StarTrekAxanar.com. 
 + 
 +By October 27, that image [[http://www.author-author.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=25858|was replaced]] with one in which those words and the Web address no longer appeared. Also, one of the patches displayed the copyrighted Vulcan IDIC symbol. 
 + 
 +Soon after the initial publication of this article, Hayden's website completely {{::updated_soundtrack.jpg?linkonly|eliminated}} its image of the back cover of the //Prelude// soundtrack CD, while continuing to sell the item, presumably with the Star Trek references intact. 
 + 
 +Meanwhile, the CD continued to be [[https://web.archive.org/web/20171101170240/http://www.author-author.net/?page=shop/browse&category_id=937|featured]] in a category on the site along with explicit Star Trek products, until  [[soundtrack pulled|suddenly pulled]] less than a week later from the website with a notice it was out of stock. 
 + 
 +== Soundtrack for Free == 
 + 
 +While Hayden's website charges $15 for the //Prelude// soundtrack, the composer, Alexander Bornstein, actually offers all the tracks from the CD [[http://www.alexanderbornstein.com/prelude-to-axanar-ost/|for free]] on his personal website.
  
 === "Vetted by Lawyers" === === "Vetted by Lawyers" ===
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 > I advised her not to sell anything with Star Trek IP on it, and being that there is no Star Trek IP on the items she is selling, CBS has no say in what she does.((Alec Peters comment on Laura Beard Hayden’s post on the Axanar Fan Group on Facebook, 10/25/17.)) > I advised her not to sell anything with Star Trek IP on it, and being that there is no Star Trek IP on the items she is selling, CBS has no say in what she does.((Alec Peters comment on Laura Beard Hayden’s post on the Axanar Fan Group on Facebook, 10/25/17.))
 +
 +[{{ ::hayden-secret-group.jpg?direct&300|**SECRET GROUP** Laura Beard Hayden, claiming no association with any Axanar fan group is a member of this secret Facebook group. <wrap lo>//Click image to view full size.//</wrap>}}]
  
 Without a connection to Axanar Productions, it's not likely Winston lawyers would have provided legal advice to a third party not involved in CBS/Paramount's suit against Axanar and Peters. Without a connection to Axanar Productions, it's not likely Winston lawyers would have provided legal advice to a third party not involved in CBS/Paramount's suit against Axanar and Peters.
-===== No Connection to Axanar Productions? =====+===== No Connection to Axanar? =====
  
 Hayden, however, claimed there was no such connection between her and Peters. "We are not associated with Axanar Productions in any way," she stated.((Laura Beard Hayden emails to B——, 10/26/17.)) Hayden, however, claimed there was no such connection between her and Peters. "We are not associated with Axanar Productions in any way," she stated.((Laura Beard Hayden emails to B——, 10/26/17.))
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 ==== Donation Back to Axanar? ==== ==== Donation Back to Axanar? ====
  
-That language — "under no obligation to give any money" —appeared to not preclude Hayden from voluntarily donating any proceeds back to Axanar. Meanwhile, Hayden refused to answer any questions about proceeds from her sales of the merchandise she received for free.+That language — "under no obligation to give any money" — appeared to not preclude Hayden from voluntarily donating any proceeds back to Axanar. Meanwhile, Hayden refused to answer any questions about proceeds from her sales of the merchandise she received for free.
 ==== Soliciting Donations for Axanar ==== ==== Soliciting Donations for Axanar ====
  
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 For his part, Peters described Hayden merely as "an Axanar donor."((Email from Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden to AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza, 10/27/17.)) For his part, Peters described Hayden merely as "an Axanar donor."((Email from Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden to AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza, 10/27/17.))
  
-==== Unaffiliated with Axanar Fan Groups ====+==== Unaffiliated with Axanar Fan Groups? ====
  
 Hayden went on to claim she was "not associated with nor represent Axanar Productions or their Fan Club/Fan Group or any other group that has formed in their support."((Laura Beard Hayden emails to B——, 10/26/17.)) Hayden went on to claim she was "not associated with nor represent Axanar Productions or their Fan Club/Fan Group or any other group that has formed in their support."((Laura Beard Hayden emails to B——, 10/26/17.))
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 > {{::14_laura_beard_hayden.jpg?nolink |}}<wrap lo>**Laura Beard Hayden** \\ May 21 \\ Alec, count on the Haydens to be your Birmingham connection for Alabama-area fans.</wrap>(([[face>suspense.net/posts/10155267083219854|Laura Beard Hayden post]] on Facebook, 5/21/27.)) > {{::14_laura_beard_hayden.jpg?nolink |}}<wrap lo>**Laura Beard Hayden** \\ May 21 \\ Alec, count on the Haydens to be your Birmingham connection for Alabama-area fans.</wrap>(([[face>suspense.net/posts/10155267083219854|Laura Beard Hayden post]] on Facebook, 5/21/27.))
 +
 +=== A Secret ===
 +
 +Also, Hayden was listed as a member of the closed Facebook group, Axanar Atlanta Volunteers, whose status was changed from "closed" to "secret," making the group and its members invisible to Facebook's public search engine.
  
 A fan group also [[todd_dragoncon#disclosing_affiliation|purporting to be independent]] was caught selling Axanar merchandise at Dragon*Con in September 2017, [[todd_dragoncon|running afoul]] of the convention's rules and spurring a complaint by //Prelude// actor [[Tony Todd]] that his image shouldn't be used to sell Axanar merchandise. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}} A fan group also [[todd_dragoncon#disclosing_affiliation|purporting to be independent]] was caught selling Axanar merchandise at Dragon*Con in September 2017, [[todd_dragoncon|running afoul]] of the convention's rules and spurring a complaint by //Prelude// actor [[Tony Todd]] that his image shouldn't be used to sell Axanar merchandise. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}}
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-**Keywords** {{tag>commercial copyright trademark}}+**Keywords** {{tag>commercial copyright trademark merchandise}}