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AXANAR AIMS to reassure donors about their perks and its lawsuit prospects. PLUS: Is CBS/Paramount’s copyright lawsuit behind the Donor Store’s re-branding as ‘Donor Station’? Read more » (Filed 7/28/16)


SIGNAL ABOUT DISCOVERY The joint filing of a protective order governing confidential information shows discovery in the Axanar copyright suit is well underway. Learn what kind of information Axanar, Alec Peters, CBS and Paramount hope to keep from public view and why. Read more » (Filed 7/12/16)


THREE WEEKS After scrubbing the Internet of the leaked and much-criticized two-minute Axanar trailer, spokesman Mike Bawden had promised “a fully polished version to share with the world” within two or three weeks. That time period just expired with no sign of a revised trailer. Read more » (Updated 7/12/16)


NEWSWEEK’S SPECIAL ISSUE celebrating Star Trek’s 50th anniversary includes an article on fan films inspired by the franchise, with Axanar images splashed over a two-page spread. The article itself explores the history of fan productions and the threat posed to them by the Axanar lawsuit. Note: The article in the printed publication repackages this April 2016 piece: Newsweek. (Filed 7/12/16)

MISPLACED LOYALTY In an explosive interview with the G&T Show, the director of Prelude to Axanar, Christian Gossett, speaks publicly for the first time about why he resigned from directing Axanar and how its supporters’ faith is based on the quality of Prelude — but the people who made it are nearly all gone because of producer Alec Peters. G&T Show YouTube Channel.


CLARIFYING GUIDELINES CBS official John Van Citters answers questions on the Engage podcast to tamp down rising complaints about fan production guidelines announced by CBS and Paramount, and explains the “brave new frontier” offered to fans no longer burdened by the possibility of litigation. Read more » (Posted 6/29/16)


FAN FILM GUIDELINES CBS and Paramount Pictures revealed a set of guidelines for fan films that would preclude the use of any professionals and the formats used by the major productions, including Axanar. Read more » (Posted 6/22/16)


ULTIMATELY NOT FAVORABLE Director Robert Meyer Burnett told the Los Angeles Times he doesn’t expect the copyright lawsuit against Axanar to turn out well for the production and its fans. Los Angeles Times. (Posted 6/20/16)


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 »


STAR TREK NO MORE In the wake of the Axanar lawsuit and CBS’ restrictive fan production guidelines, Star Trek: Renegades is now just Renegades, producers announced, and it will continue as an ongoing series featuring no Star Trek elements. Renegades Website (Posted 6/25/16)

Photo: Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection
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)


BUZZFEED’S TAKE on the Axanar case, and how it plays within the broader issues of 50 years of Star Trek fandom, also spotlights the release of the first of three teaser-trailers for the Axanar feature. Buzzfeed. (Posted 6/17/16)


STUDIO RE-BRANDED Axanar appears to have re-branded its Ares soundstage and production facilities a third time, now calling the former “Valkyrie” rental property Industry Studios. Read more » (Updated 6/16/16)


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)


REVENUE ANALYSIS Amid reports from donors of unfulfilled perks from its Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, AxaMonitor examines Axanar Productions’ fulfillment efforts and spending — turning up clues about heretofore undisclosed additional revenue. Read more » (Filed 4/19/16)


AXANAR SCRAMBLES Under increased scrutiny for perks ready to ship but stymied by incomplete software, Axanar is now trying to reassure donors it’s taking steps to shore up a fulfillment operation in disarray following their developer’s resignation. Read more » (Posted 6/6/16)


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)


PUBLIC INTEREST An AxaMonitor editorial points out the public interest behind its disclosure of private talks about fan production guidelines, and why the stakes are high for all of fandom, not just the narrow interests in the Axanar lawsuit or even just Star Trek fan films. Read more » (Posted 6/2/16)


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)


FALSELY ACCUSED After AxaMonitor published details about Alec Peters’ effort to get other fan films to back the production guidelines he wanted to negotiate with CBS and Paramount, the Axanar producer went hunting for the leaker. And Peters thought for sure he found him. Read more » (Posted 5/31/16)


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)

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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)


NEWSWEEK ON GUIDELINES Writer Marc Perton asks if the coming guidelines promised by CBS and Paramount will mark the end of Star Trek fan films or birth a new creative era. Newsweek. (Posted 5/27/16)


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)


PART TWO of Axanar producer Alec Peters’ video interview with Australia’s TrekZone.org features a follow-up defense of Peters’ comments by Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden, who faces even tougher questions from AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza. Watch now » (Filed 4/26/16)


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)


ENDGAME Hollywood producer Lukas Kendall lays out a possible but difficult endgame for Axanar producer Alec Peters (pictured, center, with his attorneys). Learn what he must admit to resolve his copyright lawsuit. Read more » (Filed 4/9/16)

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KNOWING INFRINGEMENT? Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett’s podcast interview may point to knowing and willful infringement by Axanar of Star Trek’s copyrights. Read more » (Filed 4/7/16)


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)

Fairness Zone
‘MY BIAS’ On AxaMonitor‘s one-month anniversary, editor Carlos Pedraza owns up to Axanar supporters’ concerns about biased reporting: “Scrutiny feels a lot like bias when you’re the object of the scrutiny.” Read more » (Filed 3/14/16)


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.

DETAILED INFRINGEMENT CBS and Paramount finally file their amended legal complaint against Axanar, going into 48 pages of detail — including side-by-side comparisons with real Star Trek — about the production’s alleged copyright infringement. Read more »


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.

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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.

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‘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 ».

NO ‘DIVINE RIGHT’ to Star Trek, says Star Trek Continues producer and star Vic Mignogna (left). He tells 1701News that if CBS ordered him to stop producing his fan film he’d do it and thank them for letting him make his show for as long as he did. 1701News.


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 »

PROFIT-TAKING Lawyer-blogger Mary Ellen Tomazic takes aim at how Axanar’s alleged copyright infringement broke the ‘unwritten rules’ of fan films by creating a commercial operation. From Intellectual Property Law blog.

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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.

LEAKED SCRIPT 1701News.com releases a package of articles based on a leaked draft of Axanar‘s script. The site tells the tale of the leaked screenplay, offers a filmmaker’s review of the script (spoilers!) and criticizes Axanar’s attempts to control the conversation.
PHONY FAIR USE? Copyright expert and attorney Stephen Carlisle takes issue with “doublespeak typical of Axanar’s producers” about commercial exploitation and fair use of Star Trek copyrights, honing in on its recent disavowal of plans to operate a movie studio. Copyright Office, Nova Southeastern University.
NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES On the eve of filing its lawsuit response, Axanar closed off its Facebook groups to the public, deleted dissenting discussion threads and summarily ejected donors deemed unsupportive. Read more »
STARSHIP COPYRIGHT? In a case that may affect the Axanar suit, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a California man who makes and sells replicas of the Batmobile, effectively granting the iconic vehicle copyright protection. From Consumerist.

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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.


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