This is the first page of older news items that have cycled off the AxaMonitor home page.

THE DIFFERENCE What’s the difference between the new Star Trek fan film guidelines and the contest rules that grant a license to Star Wars fan productions? Writer-producer Jody Wheeler compares and contrasts the studios’ very similar approaches. Read more »

STUDIOS HOPEFUL ABOUT SETTLEMENT After a spate of news stories about the Axanar lawsuit continuing despite producer J.J. Abrams’ intervention, CBS and Paramount said June 21: “Talks are ongoing. We continue to be hopeful that we will reach a settlement shortly.” Wall Street Journal. (Posted 6/21/16)

SUIT’S NOT ‘GOING AWAY’ Despite the intercession by J.J. Abrams and Star Trek director Justin Lin, CBS and Paramount stated in their reply to Axanar’s counterclaim that the studios’ copyright infringement lawsuit is very much alive. Read more » (Posted 6/15/16)

TrekZONE OFFERS a new video interview with Star Trek novelist Dave Galanter, who recounts how Axanar producer Alec Peters tried to convince him to breach his contract and write an Axanar book under a pen name — and Galanter was not the only professional author Peters pursued. TrekZONE YouTube Channel

NO DOES The deadline has passed to add parties to the case or to amend the legal complaint, meaning no additional Doe defendants will be named in the lawsuit. Read more » (Posted 6/9/16)

AWAITING ORDERS In a series of incisive blog posts, independent filmmaker Bjorn Munson weighs in on the controversy over the setting of fan film guidelines by CBS and Paramount: “Fan film guidelines are coming … For better or worse, the old way is going away. Don’t you want to talk about what would work for you or not?” Bjorn Munson's blog (Posted 6/5/16)

SUSPENDING PRODUCTION The long-running British fan film, Star Trek: Intrepid, suspends production, citing the Axanar lawsuit and its ensuing uncertainty about what new rules fan films will have to live under. Read more » (Posted 6/2/16)

BACKLASH Following his disclosure of fan producers involved, more than a dozen fan productions publicly disavowed Axanar producer Alec Peters’ attempt to bolster his lawsuit settlement position by trying to rally productions behind his proposed fan film guidelines. Read more » (Posted 5/30/16)

FAN FILM GUIDELINES With CBS/Paramount drafting fan film guidelines, Axanar’s Alec Peters has reached out to several fan productions for their support of rules Peters wants the studios to accept, and isn’t having much luck. The rules include an end to crowdfunding and a limit on films’ running times. Read more » (Posted 5/27/16)

‘I’M ANGRY’ In a heartfelt Facebook post in the wake of an apparent legal reprieve announced the day before by producer J.J. Abrams, Star Trek–Horizon creator Tommy Kraft spoke out against Axanar as a production “not wholly innocent” that treated him badly. Read more » (Posted 5/20/16)

GOING AWAY? In an unexpected twist in the Axanar saga, producer J.J. Abrams told fans at a Star Trek Beyond event that an appeal by director Justin Lin to Paramount Pictures would make the Axanar lawsuit go away. 1701News (Posted 5/20/16)

BRAIN? BRAIN? Bloomberg article on Axanar lawsuit elides important facts, follows Los Angeles visit by PR director, appears to mirror the production’s talking points. In a news analysis, AxaMonitor‘s editor details the article’s factual and contextual problems. Read more » (Posted 5/19/16)

JUDGE DENIES In a sweeping ruling rejecting the defense’s motion to dismiss, Judge Klausner cited Vulcan philosophy to state plaintiffs’ infringement case will ‘live long’ enough to seek to ‘prosper’ in court. Read more » (Filed 5/10/16)

PARTING OF THE WAYS? Having split fandom, is Alec Peters doing the same to Star Trek’s owners, with Paramount sticking by J.J. Abrams’ wish to make the lawsuit go away, and CBS continuing the legal battle? Sources say that trouble is brewing. 1701News (Posted 5/26/16)

DEFENDANTS PREVENT DISMISSAL Following two unsuccessful motions to dismiss the copyright infringement lawsuit against them, and an unexpected show of support from J.J. Abrams and Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin, Axanar filed a formal Answer to the legal complaint that included a counterclaim guaranteeing the plaintiffs couldn’t withdraw the suit. Read more » (Posted 5/23/16)

TOP AXANAR STAFFER RESIGNS Lead developer and co-producer, Terry McIntosh, left Axanar Productions a week after producer Alec Peters remarked on the failure of McIntosh’s Ares Digital software to fulfill donors’ languishing Kickstarter perks. Read more » (Posted 5/16/16)

CANCELED KICKSTARTER Warned off a sequel by CBS in the wake of the Axanar lawsuit, Star Trek: Horizon‘s creators kicked off a crowdfunding campaign for a $250,000 non-Trek film project that was canceled after failing to catch fire among potential backers. Read more » (Updated 5/17/16)

NEW INSIGHT from the creator of Star Trek–Horizon about why CBS made its move to shut down his sequel — with more fan productions to follow — amid continuing concerns about crowdfunding and fallout from Axanar’s activities. Read more » (Filed 4/23/16)

DEROGATORY SLUR Author David Gerrold has repudiated a derogatory quote about AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza attributed to the scifi author by Axanar producer Alec Peters in order to discredit AxaMonitor’s coverage of the Star Trek–Horizon sequel shutdown by CBS. Read more » (Filed 4/25/16)

NEWSWEEK covers the Axanar lawsuit in a comprehensive piece, “‘Star Trek’ Copyright Battle Pits Paramount and CBS Against ‘Professional’ Fan Film” — a rare media piece that explores nuances instead of buying into a simplistic David vs. Goliath narrative. Newsweek. (Filed 4/22/16)

BLACKLISTED In a flurry of tweets, Sean P. Tourangeau, designer of Axanar’s flagship, the USS Ares, blamed his involvement with Axanar for being blacklisted from professional Star Trek. He is a potential Doe defendant in the copyright lawsuit. Read more » (Filed 4/20/16)

WHICH KOBAYASHI MARU? A popular blog post by an Axanar supporter portrays the lawsuit as a no-win scenario for Paramount Pictures (not CBS), while AxaMonitor‘s Carlos Pedraza suggests in an editorial that it’s more likely a test of character for producer Alec Peters. Read more » (Filed 4/7/16)

AUDIT DEMAND On the heels of AxaMonitor‘s analysis of Axanar’s Annual Report, 1701News tells the fan film production it owes its donors “a full and complete financial audit.” 1701News. (Filed 4/1/16)

A VALIANT ATTEMPT at transparency, is how Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden describes its Annual Report, that “falls short of providing meaningful financial detail.” Read more » (Filed 3/31/16)

GERROLD PARTNERS with Axanar Productions in crowdfunding effort to adapt the scifi author’s popular Chtorr books for the screen. In Axanar’s latest podcast David Gerrold, writer of “The Trouble with Tribbles,” announced he, Axanar producer Alec Peters and director Robert Burnett, plan to produce the adaptation. YouTube.

KLINGON LANGUAGE sparks battle between noted journalist and scifi author Cory Doctorow and blogger/Trek actor Wil Wheaton. Doctorow’s Boing Boing article spilled over onto Twitter, where Wheaton repeated his criticism of Axanar’s “massive infringement” and acting in “bad faith.” Boing Boing and Twitter.

DIALING BACK A week after CBS and Paramount filed their amended legal complaint, the Axanar IMDb page reverted its production status to ‘in development’ after months of preproduction, verging on principal photography. Read more »

TREKMOVIE.COM features an article by AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza, “Everything You Need to Know About the Current State of the Axanar Lawsuit.” TrekMovie.com.

JUDGE’S ORDER for a May 9 pre-trial conference includes a requirement to notify anyone who may be a party to the Axanar case, though CBS and Paramount’s March 11 amended complaint hasn’t yet identified the unnamed ‘Doe’ co-defendants. Who might they be? IMDb offers some clues. Read more »

‘EPIC DOUCHECANOES’ Star Trek actor and blogger Wil Wheaton weighed in on the Axanar copyright lawsuit; his words about Axanar were not kind. “They are morally and ethically and legally in the wrong.” Wil Wheaton dot Tumblr.

‘BEYOND’ SUPPORT It was a banner day for Axanar when Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin tweeted his support for fan films after The Hollywood Reporter reported on Paramount and CBS’ hard-hitting amended lawsuit. Justin Lin's tweet ».

BROAD BRUSH Editor Carlos Pedraza blogs about how Axanar’s spokesman’s dismissal of criticism impugns the character of people instead of confronting questions on their merits. Read more »

AXAMONITOR INTERVIEW The Tribbles in Ecstasy podcast featured AxaMonitor in a live discussion segment with editor Carlos Pedraza covering the latest in the lawsuit and what AxaMonitor is for. The podcast is available online; you can skip to the AxaMonitor segment at 3:10:09.

CAN AXANAR and ‘Beyond’ co-exist? Inquisitr wonders whether Axanar could derail Paramount’s official franchise reboot, and speculates the coexistence of these two films is likely to polarize the fan base in a way that taxes Paramount’s pockets. From Inquistr.

RISING STAR Axanar defense attorney Erin Ranahan was honored March 31 by legal publication Law360 as a Rising Star in the Media & Entertainment category. She is an intellectual property litigator in Winston & Strawn‘s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. Winston & Strawn.