Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
which_kobayashi_maru [2016/04/08 10:41] – adds byline at top Carlos Pedrazawhich_kobayashi_maru [Unknown date] (current) – external edit (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1
Line 1: Line 1:
 {{::kobayashi-maru.jpg|Memory-Alpha.wikia.com}} {{::kobayashi-maru.jpg|Memory-Alpha.wikia.com}}
 {{TOC}} {{TOC}}
 +<WRAP>
 +//**__Commentary__**//
 +</WRAP>
 ====== Which Kobayashi Maru? ====== ====== Which Kobayashi Maru? ======
  
-<WRAP left box>+//A popular blog post by an Axanar supporter portrays the lawsuit as a no-win scenario for Paramount Pictures (not CBS, the other plaintiff), while// **AxaMonitor**//'s Carlos Pedraza suggests that it's more likely a test of character for producer Alec Peters.// 
 + 
 +<WRAP box>
 {{ :user:carlos-doku.jpg?nolink&60|}} {{ :user:carlos-doku.jpg?nolink&60|}}
 <wrap lo>By [[user>cpedraza|Carlos Pedraza]] \\ <wrap lo>By [[user>cpedraza|Carlos Pedraza]] \\
 **AxaMonitor** editor \\ **AxaMonitor** editor \\
-April 5, 2016</wrap>+April 7, 2016</wrap>
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 **AXANAR SUPPORTER** Reece Watkins published a piece that's gotten some play this week, "Will Paramount’s Lawsuit Become the Studio’s Own Kobayashi Maru?", referring to the [[mema>Kobayashi Maru scenario|famous no-win scenario]] introduced in //Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan//. **AXANAR SUPPORTER** Reece Watkins published a piece that's gotten some play this week, "Will Paramount’s Lawsuit Become the Studio’s Own Kobayashi Maru?", referring to the [[mema>Kobayashi Maru scenario|famous no-win scenario]] introduced in //Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan//.
 +
 +<WRAP right round todo 60%>
 +<wrap lo><wrap em>UPDATE</wrap> Krypton Radio, the scifi news site that originally published Reece Watkin's Kobayashi Maru editorial posted an [[https://kryptonradio.com/2016/04/05/paramount-lawsuit-becomes-studios-kobayashi-maru/|edited version]] that included more accurate information about CBS' role as a joint plaintiff in the Axanar [[lawsuit]]. The updated post did not address any of the other structural and factual weaknesses addressed in this article.</wrap>
 +</WRAP>
  
 ===== All About Paramount (Not CBS) ===== ===== All About Paramount (Not CBS) =====
  
-In Watkins' telling of the state of the copyright infringement lawsuit Axanar faces from Star Trek owners CBS and Paramount Pictures, CBS plays no role. Only "the beleaguered studio," Paramount Pictures, faces a "legal quagmire" from what, in it's beleaguerment, should have been been a "quick-and-out" victory.+In [[https://kryptonradio.com/2016/04/05/paramount-lawsuit-becomes-studios-kobayashi-maru/|Watkins' telling]] of the state of the copyright infringement lawsuit Axanar faces from Star Trek owners CBS and Paramount Pictures, CBS plays no role. Only "the beleaguered studio," Paramount Pictures, faces a "legal quagmire" from what, in it's beleaguerment, should have been been a "quick-and-out" victory.
  
 The analysis in Watkins' blog post — featured prominently on Axanar's website — suffers from some major problems. The biggest? It assumes facts not in evidence. For example: The analysis in Watkins' blog post — featured prominently on Axanar's website — suffers from some major problems. The biggest? It assumes facts not in evidence. For example:
  
   * The assumption that Paramount has the most at stake in this case. His post largely ignores CBS' stake. While Paramount holds the movie rights for Star Trek, CBS holds the TV rights and — importantly — the licensing rights that have filled corporate coffers for 50 years.   * The assumption that Paramount has the most at stake in this case. His post largely ignores CBS' stake. While Paramount holds the movie rights for Star Trek, CBS holds the TV rights and — importantly — the licensing rights that have filled corporate coffers for 50 years.
-  * That the case threatens to become a legal quagmire. It's so early in the case that there's insufficient evidence to conclude the plaintiffs face a quagmire. There's been no discovery, no ruling on the defense's [[motion to dismiss|dismissal motion]], no pre-trial conference, no hearing of any kind yet before U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner.+  * That the case threatens to become a legal quagmire. It's so early in the case that there's insufficient evidence to conclude the plaintiffs face a quagmire. There's been no [[discovery]], no ruling on the defense's [[motion to dismiss|dismissal motion]], no [[scheduling_conference|pre-trial conference]], no hearing of any kind yet before U.S. District Court [[Judge R. Gary Klausner]].
  
 +<WRAP right box 50%>
 +//**__Watkins presents no facts to show how Paramount will be compelled to reward copyright infringers who used Star Trek to fund their commercial ventures.__**//
 +</WRAP>
 ===== Straw Man Arguments ===== ===== Straw Man Arguments =====
  
Line 52: Line 64:
 For Paramount (don't forget CBS, Reece!), protecting their billion-dollar Star Trek property is worth that outlay. Axanar's demise is merely the instrument by which they get a clear legal judgment preventing anyone else from setting up multiple revenue streams and gathering seed money for their commercial ventures on the back of intellectual property they don't own, all under the guise of producing a fan film. For Paramount (don't forget CBS, Reece!), protecting their billion-dollar Star Trek property is worth that outlay. Axanar's demise is merely the instrument by which they get a clear legal judgment preventing anyone else from setting up multiple revenue streams and gathering seed money for their commercial ventures on the back of intellectual property they don't own, all under the guise of producing a fan film.
  
-This is all, of course, in a world at which Axanar is not at its center. But let's travel back to that world of fantasy to consider Watkins' next assertion (again, with facts not in evidence):+This is all, of course, in a world in which Axanar is not at its center. But let's travel back to that world of fantasy to consider Watkins' next assertion (again, with facts not in evidence):
  
 ==== Paramount's Dirty Little Secrets ==== ==== Paramount's Dirty Little Secrets ====
Line 62: Line 74:
 > Due to the vagaries of many company mergers and splits since the original show first aired in 1966, Paramount only holds the theatrical/film rights to Star Trek. CBS holds all the rest, most importantly to the original television material. > Due to the vagaries of many company mergers and splits since the original show first aired in 1966, Paramount only holds the theatrical/film rights to Star Trek. CBS holds all the rest, most importantly to the original television material.
  
-It is fair for Axanar's attorneys to ask for documentation of the two studios' Star Trek copyright. But it's a dot-your-I's, cross-your-T's kind of thing. There in fact could be a world where CBS and Paramount failed to do so, and it would, to be sure "be a colossal embarrassment for Paramount," as Watkins states.+It is fair for Axanar's attorneys to ask for documentation of the two studios' Star Trek copyright. But it's a dot-your-I's, cross-your-T's kind of thing. There in fact could be a world where CBS and Paramount failed to do so, and it would, to be sure, "be a colossal embarrassment for Paramount," as Watkins states.
  
 But there's no evidence any of us actually live in that world. Get some evidence, Axanar, and then you can legitimately pose the threat that "Paramount has no legal standing to sue and could be removed from the case by the court."(([[http://www.axanarproductions.com/paramounts-kobayashi-maru/|Axanar blog, "Will Paramount’s Lawsuit Become the Studio’s Own Kobayashi Maru?,"]] Reece Watkins, 4/5/16.)) But there's no evidence any of us actually live in that world. Get some evidence, Axanar, and then you can legitimately pose the threat that "Paramount has no legal standing to sue and could be removed from the case by the court."(([[http://www.axanarproductions.com/paramounts-kobayashi-maru/|Axanar blog, "Will Paramount’s Lawsuit Become the Studio’s Own Kobayashi Maru?,"]] Reece Watkins, 4/5/16.))
Line 87: Line 99:
  
 Do I assert whether anything inappropriate or illegal is behind any of these questions? No, I do not. I simply have no evidence other than what I have been able to produce on AxaMonitor. But they are legitimate questions, and they deserve answers, either to the public or to the friendly lawyers from Loeb. Do I assert whether anything inappropriate or illegal is behind any of these questions? No, I do not. I simply have no evidence other than what I have been able to produce on AxaMonitor. But they are legitimate questions, and they deserve answers, either to the public or to the friendly lawyers from Loeb.
 +
 +[{{ ::star-trek-beyond.jpg?nolink&300|**MARKET POWER** Do the 12,000 Axanar fans wield enough power to make a dent in //Star Trek Beyond//'s box office, or will the 2016 blockbuster rise or fall on its own merits?}}]
  
 ==== 'Axanar' vs. 'Star Trek Beyond' ==== ==== 'Axanar' vs. 'Star Trek Beyond' ====
Line 93: Line 107:
  
 > That’s not all Paramount has to worry about. … There is still a huge amount of money at risk for the film studio, namely in the form of the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond” film. With a budget well into nine figures, the slightest whiff of bad publicity could easily reduce the opening weekend box office for their summer blockbuster by more than they could hope to be awarded in damages, even if Axanar Productions did have millions to pay out. > That’s not all Paramount has to worry about. … There is still a huge amount of money at risk for the film studio, namely in the form of the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond” film. With a budget well into nine figures, the slightest whiff of bad publicity could easily reduce the opening weekend box office for their summer blockbuster by more than they could hope to be awarded in damages, even if Axanar Productions did have millions to pay out.
 +
 +<WRAP right box 50%>
 +//**__//Star Trek Beyond// will rise or fall on its own merits, not the imaginary market power of a fringe group of fans.__**//
 +</WRAP>
  
 === Bad Publicity === === Bad Publicity ===
Line 106: Line 124:
 === Media Narrative === === Media Narrative ===
  
-In this world, the real world, most people don't give a hoot about a fan film accused of wholesale copyright infringement, especially once they learn about the commercial ventures associated with the production. While a good number of the initial media stories back in December played off the David vs. Goliath narrative Axanar was promoting, as the case has progressed the stories have focused more on photo-friendly copyright disputes, like whether you can copyright a fictitious language like Klingon, or whether pointy-eared Vulcans are essentially the same as vampires and elves in other genre.+In this world, the real world, most people don't give a hoot about a fan film accused of wholesale copyright infringement, especially once they learn about the commercial ventures associated with the production. While a good number of the initial media stories back in December played off the David vs. Goliath narrative Axanar was promoting, as the case has progressed the stories have focused more on photo-friendly copyright disputes, like whether you can copyright a fictitious language like Klingon, or whether pointy-eared Vulcans are essentially the same as vampires and elves in other genres.
  
 Most of the audience Paramount hopes to attract to //Star Trek Beyond// have no interest in a story about nerds arguing about whether you can get sued for saying //Qapla’.// Most of the audience Paramount hopes to attract to //Star Trek Beyond// have no interest in a story about nerds arguing about whether you can get sued for saying //Qapla’.//
  
-The purported silliness of that controversy is just as likely an interpretation of //Beyond// director Justin Lin's now-famous yet ambiguous tweet ("This is ridiculous! Trek belongs to the fans!") which Watkins would have you believe can only be construed as unequivocal support for Axanar. +The purported silliness of that controversy is just as likely an interpretation of //Beyond// director Justin Lin's now-famous yet ambiguous tweet ("This is ridiculous! I support the fans! Trek belongs to all of us!") which Watkins would have you believe can only be construed as unequivocal support for Axanar. In his lack of specificity, Lin has been strangely silent since.
  
 === 'The Fans' === === 'The Fans' ===
Line 119: Line 137:
  
 Assuming every single one boycotts //Beyond//, that won't make even a dent in the audience numbers. //Star Trek Beyond// will rise or fall on its own merits, not the imaginary market power of a fringe group of fans, many of whom never liked the rebooted Trek anyway.  Assuming every single one boycotts //Beyond//, that won't make even a dent in the audience numbers. //Star Trek Beyond// will rise or fall on its own merits, not the imaginary market power of a fringe group of fans, many of whom never liked the rebooted Trek anyway. 
- 
 ==== 'Axanar' the Savior ==== ==== 'Axanar' the Savior ====
  
Line 130: Line 147:
 > There is a way out for them — by dropping the case now and letting Axanar proceed with their blessing, they can go from bully to savior with the stroke of a pen. By working with Axanar, the story goes from “Studio Bullies Fan Film” to “Paramount blazes new media trail with landmark deal.” That can only help the box office for Star Trek Beyond, and when a CBS approved Axanar hits the retail channel, Paramount could stand to make millions of dollars-the only way it can possibly make any money at all off the whole fiasco. That’s the studio’s only hope to solve its own Kobayashi Maru — stop the test now, before they sink their own ship. > There is a way out for them — by dropping the case now and letting Axanar proceed with their blessing, they can go from bully to savior with the stroke of a pen. By working with Axanar, the story goes from “Studio Bullies Fan Film” to “Paramount blazes new media trail with landmark deal.” That can only help the box office for Star Trek Beyond, and when a CBS approved Axanar hits the retail channel, Paramount could stand to make millions of dollars-the only way it can possibly make any money at all off the whole fiasco. That’s the studio’s only hope to solve its own Kobayashi Maru — stop the test now, before they sink their own ship.
  
-Never mind Watkins presents no real facts to support the media narrative he is certain will provide the leverage that forces Paramount (not CBS … well, maybe CBS a little bit) to reward copyright infringers who used the studios' intellectual property to fund their own professional, commercial ventures. Only by accepting //Axanar// can Paramount (not CBS) pass its Kobayashi Maru.+Never mind Watkins presents no real facts to support the media narrative he is certain will force Paramount (not CBS … well, maybe CBS a little bit) to reward copyright infringers who used the studios' intellectual property to fund their own professional, commercial ventures. Only by accepting //Axanar// can Paramount (not CBS) pass its Kobayashi Maru.
  
-Except maybe Axanar is more like Orion raiders taking refuge in the Badlands. And Watkins should remember that the Kobayashi Maru is not a test you pass by "winning." It is a test of character. And the character being tested here is of a producer who got fans to part with their money by describing his project as a "fully professional independent Star Trek production," and who believed CBS still got the final say over the use of its intellectual property. Until he didn't on December 29, 2015.+Except maybe Axanar is more like Orion raiders taking refuge in the Badlands. And Watkins should remember that the Kobayashi Maru is not a test you pass through victory. It is a test of character. And the character being tested here is of a producer who got fans to part with their money by describing his project as a "fully professional independent Star Trek production," and who believed CBS still got the final say over the use of its intellectual property. Until he didn't on December 29, 2015.
  
 The character being tested is the one that when suddenly faced with a lawsuit about his singular misuse of intellectual property he does not own began calling his production just a fan film like all the others, and kicked out anyone who dared to question the party line in its Facebook groups, often maligning their character, swearing at them and calling them names. The character being tested is the one that when suddenly faced with a lawsuit about his singular misuse of intellectual property he does not own began calling his production just a fan film like all the others, and kicked out anyone who dared to question the party line in its Facebook groups, often maligning their character, swearing at them and calling them names.
  
-That's the Kobayashi Maru test Alec Peters and Axanar faces in the real world.+That's the Kobayashi Maru test Alec Peters and Axanar face in the real world. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}} 
 + 
 +---- 
 +**Keywords** {{tag>news commentary}}