Screenshot from the fan-made film “Star Trek: Axanar.” Watch “Prelude to Axanar” on YouTube .
Credit: Axanar Productions/YouTube
Production on a “Star Trek” fan film is stalled pending the result of a copyright lawsuit from CBS and Paramount.
“Axanar,” which was slated to be released later this year, would have continued the story of Garth of izar, a character from the original series of “Star Trek.” Its cast includes big-name science-fiction actors such as Richard Hatch (“Battlestar: Galactica”) and Gary Graham (“Star Trek: Enterprise”).The production raised more than $600,000 in its latest crowdfunding campaign and, according to its Indiegogo fundraising site , aimed to be the “the first fully professional, independent ‘Star Trek’ film” that includes participation from many “Star Trek” veterans both in front of and behind the camera. In December, however, CBS and Paramount filed suit in California, alleging the production violates several “Star Trek” copyrights, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [‘Star Trek: Prelude To Axanar’ in Pictures: Trek Fan Film Photos ]
“The Axanar Works infringe Plaintiffs’ works by using innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes,” the original complaint read, according to a Dec. 30 report from The Hollywood Reporter .
When asked for an interview with Space.com, a representative from Paramount emailed a joint written statement from CBS and Paramount to serve as comment on the lawsuit.
“Star Trek is a treasured franchise in which CBS and Paramount continue to produce new original content for its large universe of fans,” the statement read. “The producers of Axanar are making a Star Trek picture they describe themselves as a fully professional independent Star Trek film. Their activity clearly violates our ‘Star Trek’ copyrights, which, of course, we will continue to vigorously protect.”
However, it’s unclear whether the funds raised from “Prelude to Axanar” constituted profit or if that had anything to do with the lawsuit.
In previous interviews with Space.com, Axanar executive producer Alec Peters said “Star Trek” fan films are permitted by CBS and Paramount as long as those films do not return a profit. In 2014, his team released a 20-minute short called “Prelude to Axanar” that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support and featured shout-outs from “Star Trek” actors, such as George Takei (Sulu in the original series).
When contacted by Space.com in late March regarding the lawsuit, Peters said his production company had initially offered to settle the lawsuit. He added that his law team, Winston & Strawn, believes Paramount’s complaint is “too vague.”
“One of the things that’s disappointing about this whole case is, we have ‘Star Trek’ fans who are excited about the new movie coming out,” Peters said. “The director [for the 2016 CBS/Paramount ‘Star Trek’ film, Justin Lin] tweeted his support for us in the lawsuit.”
According to Peters, Winston & Strawn subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. CBS and Paramount responded, he said, by amending portions of the complaint. The new complaint alleges that copyrights were violated in matters such as the pointy ears and “distinctive eyebrows” of Vulcan, the gold-shirt uniforms of Federation officers, and the Klingon language, according to documents posted by T he Hollywood Reporter on March 13 .
New motion to dismiss
In the meantime, the production of “Axanar” is on hold pending the result of the lawsuit. If the lawsuit is resolved in the film’s favor, Peters said, production will still be delayed, as it would take a couple of months to organize everything, including coordinating the actors’ schedules and resuming work on elements such as the costumes.
Winston & Strawn filed a new motion to dismiss on March 28. CBS and Paramount have yet to file a response in court.
“The motion provides examples as to how CBS and Paramount overreach in what they claim are elements protected under copyright, and fail to be specific as to exactly which copyrights have been infringed upon; and, in the case of the potential feature film Axanar, claims of alleged copyright infringement cannot be made against a film that doesn’t yet exist,” read part of an Axanar statement on the motion to dismiss.
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace , or Space.com @Spacedotcom . We’re also on Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .
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