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federation_falling [2016/04/21 00:41] – Carlos Pedraza | federation_falling [2018/03/02 11:37] (current) – [Parsing CBS' Goals] Carlos Pedraza | ||
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- | + | ====== Federation Falling? ====== | |
- | /* ====== Federation Falling? ====== | + | <WRAP 720px> |
- | //CBS brings a halt to the crowdfunding effort for the Star Trek – Horizon sequel,// Federation Rising. //Does this signal the end of fan films?// | + | {{:: |
- | + | <wrap lo>CBS brings a halt to the crowdfunding effort for the //Star Trek – Horizon// sequel, // | |
- | <WRAP box 50%> | + | </WRAP> |
- | {{ : | + | {{TOC}} |
+ | <WRAP box> | ||
+ | {{: | ||
<wrap lo>By [[user> | <wrap lo>By [[user> | ||
**AxaMonitor** editor \\ | **AxaMonitor** editor \\ | ||
+ | [[http:// | ||
April 21, 2016</ | April 21, 2016</ | ||
</ | </ | ||
- | The Axanar | + | **THE AXANAR** |
+ | |||
+ | <wrap lo>//See also: [[tommy_kraft|Axanar, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Horizon | ||
In a lengthy post to the Star Trek – Horizon Facebook page, Kraft wrote: | In a lengthy post to the Star Trek – Horizon Facebook page, Kraft wrote: | ||
- | > Executives from CBS reached out to me and advised me that their legal team strongly suggested that we do not move forward with plans to create a sequel to Horizon. While this is a sign of the current climate that we find ourselves in with Star Trek fan films, I want to personally thank CBS for reaching out to me, rather than including us in their ongoing lawsuit against Axanar.(([[face> | + | > Executives from CBS reached out to me and advised me that <wrap hi>their legal team strongly suggested that we do not move forward</ |
+ | |||
+ | [{{ :: | ||
+ | |||
+ | At the heart of that [[lawsuit]], | ||
+ | |||
+ | The typical course of action in Kraft' | ||
+ | |||
+ | > It was conveyed that the reason CBS was reaching out to me was <wrap hi>due to the legal troubles stemming from the Axanar case.</ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The rest of Kraft' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== What Does it Mean? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Following Kraft' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I cannot say right now, will only say what is public, but there are other whispers," | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== What it Doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Perhaps the best way to figure out what CBS' move means is to examine what it // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Parsing CBS' Suggestion ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Breaking down what Kraft said CBS told him may illuminate the implications of this move. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **CBS ' | ||
+ | Corporations usually demand. The kid gloves — especially since the move was prompted by lawyers — mean something. This is not the way executives (or lawyers, for that matter) act when they want to destroy something. It's the way they act when they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [{{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | **' | ||
+ | While there have been murmurings that some executives within CBS want to do away with fan films because now they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **CBS was reaching out because of 'the legal troubles stemming from the Axanar case' | ||
+ | CBS and Paramount haven' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== What Might it Actually Mean? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | A bit more challenging is sussing out what CBS is actually trying to accomplish by " | ||
+ | |||
+ | An important part of Axanar' | ||
+ | * Isn't about money. | ||
+ | * Is only about copyright. | ||
+ | |||
+ | To that end, Axanar has, since the onset of the suit, sought to liken itself to other fan films, but emphasizing that it's more original, using fewer Star Trek copyrighted elements than the others. Director Robert Meyer Burnett said: | ||
+ | |||
+ | > The problem with [other] Star Trek fan films is they’re trying to recreate Star Trek. As good as their productions might be … you’re still watching actors that aren’t Kirk, Spock and McCoy. While they painstakingly recreate the bridge or the props and everything, you know you’re not watching real Star Trek.(([[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | The more unique Axanar seems, the more reasonable a lawsuit against it might seem. The more alike to other fan films, the more they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Parsing CBS' Goals ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | **'The message felt more like a heads up before we got too involved in another project' | ||
+ | Kraft was literally a couple days away from beginning the Kickstarter campaign for // | ||
+ | |||
+ | <WRAP right box 50%> | ||
+ | // | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Everyone infringes** \\ | ||
+ | Almost by definition, all fan films infringe. Intellectual property lawyer Mary Ellen Tomazic calls it " | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Until crowdfunding** \\ | ||
+ | Suddenly, fan producers had access to what has become millions of dollars for their productions. “Sometimes a good thing can't last,” writes Jonathan Bailey in an article, “How Money and Fame Have Changed Fan Fiction,” on his website, Plagiarism Today: | ||
+ | |||
+ | > The truth is that Axanar may be a turning point in the relationship between rightsholders and fan fiction creators, a relationship that’s about to get a lot more complex. … The battle lines were being redrawn and the reason was because the Internet was, slowly, turning fan fiction and fan art into big business.(([[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | Tomazic, writing in her blog, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | > The case revolves around what “profiting” from a fan film includes — can a filmmaker hire actors, set designers and build out a studio with crowdfunded money to make a “fan” film? Can he pay himself a salary from the funds? Paramount and CBS say no, deciding that this Axanar movie is no fan film but a competing product made from their copyrights and trademarks. The lawsuit is their way of reining in their previous tolerance of unlicensed use of their intellectual property, and protecting their legal rights under federal law.(([[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Rules for the Future** \\ | ||
+ | The eventual impact of this case, according to Tomazic, may well limit what true fan productions can do in the future: | ||
+ | |||
+ | > The Axanar lawsuit should serve as a cautionary tale for all fan film makers, as it will most <wrap hi> | ||
+ | |||
+ | Indeed, Axanar producer Alec Peters had asked CBS and Paramount to more rigidly define what fan productions can and cannot do.(([[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | > A fan creation [may] comply with the letter of the law but still be undesirable or even harmful to the original creation. … Rightsholders, | ||
+ | |||
+ | So what new restrictions may lie within Bailey' | ||
+ | |||
+ | <WRAP right box 50%> | ||
+ | // | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The End of Crowdfunding** \\ | ||
+ | "The love of money," | ||
+ | - Relative ease — it's as easy as having a good idea and a well-planned campaign. | ||
+ | - Lack of accountability — as Axanar and other crowdfunded projects have demonstrated, | ||
+ | - Others earning profits — it's not just productions themselves (like Axanar' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[crowdfunding platforms]] have policies in place that supposedly prohibit projects that use intellectual property to which they don't have rights, but both Kickstarter and Indiegogo appear to have ignored their own rules. They both [[axanar_indiegogo_details# | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the long term, by focusing on the crowdfunding platforms, the studios can continue to keep their hands-off policy with fan films. By threatening Indiegogo and Kickstarter with legal action if they don't police unlicensed use of their intellectual property on their platforms, the studios choke off the most problematic aspects of fan films, the ones that stem from unrestricted crowdfunding. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This action, if it is indeed the studios' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Where do other fan films go from here? That territory remains uncharted. {{: | ||
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- | **Keywords** {{tag> | + | **Keywords** {{tag> |