star-trek-axanar-uss-ares

It’s a legal case that many in the nerddom have been following: CBS and Paramount suing the fan film ‘Axanar’ over ‘Star Trek’ copyright infringement. And now, after 13 long months of litigation, the case has now been settled before going to a jury trial on Jan 31.

In a joint statement that was released:

“Paramount Pictures Corporation, CBS Studios Inc., Axanar Productions, Inc. and Alec Peters are pleased to announce that the litigation regarding Axanar’s film Prelude to Axanar and its proposed film Axanar has been resolved. Axanar and Mr. Peters acknowledge that both films were not approved by Paramount or CBS, and that both works crossed boundaries acceptable to CBS and Paramount relating to copyright law.”

‘Axanar’ is the brainchild of Alec Peters who crowdsourced funds (more than $1.1 million) in order to create a high-quality feature-length fan film based on Garth of Izar. The film would focus on the battle between the Federation and Klingons that took place 20 years before the original ‘Star Trek’ series. Garth, for those who aren’t up to their ‘Star Trek’ lore, was first seen in the episode ‘Whom Gods Destroy’ and was introduced as a Starfleet Captain and a hero of Captain Kirk because of his accomplishments in the Battle of Axnar.

To illustrate what could be accomplished, a 20-minute fan film ‘Prelude to Axanar’ was produced and received much accolades from Trekkies. From there, things became more complicated as around the time production was to begin, Paramount and CBS decided to sue arguing that ‘Axanar’ was trying to make a professional commercial film and not a fan film using their property rights on ‘Star Trek.’

News of the settlement has brought mixed emotions among ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Axanar’ fans and many felt that it was due to the Alec Peters’ project that the studios enacted specific guidelines for ‘Star Trek’ fan films last year which restricted how a fan film can be made.

While specifics of the settlements are sealed to the public, what has been disclosed from the statement is that Axanar Productions must now change their film from the original feature length into two 15 minutes segments which can be distributed digitally. They are allowed, however, to keep the 20-minute ‘Prelude to Axanar’ short film up on YouTube.

“Axanar and Mr. Peters have agreed to make substantial changes to Axanar to resolve this litigation, and have also assured the copyright holders that any future Star Trek fan films produced by Axanar or Mr. Peters will be in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for Fan Films’ distributed by CBS and Paramount in June 2016.”

Whether or not this lawsuit had any relation to the fact that CBS is getting ready to launch their own ‘Star Trek’ series is anyone guess, but at least now the studio can concentrate on getting ‘Star Trek: Discovery” on the air as the series premiere has since been delayed twice.

Below is the full statement released:

Paramount Pictures Corporation, CBS Studios Inc., Axanar Productions, Inc. and Alec Peters are pleased to announce that the litigation regarding Axanar’s film Prelude to Axanar and its proposed film Axanar has been resolved. Axanar and Mr. Peters acknowledge that both films were not approved by Paramount or CBS, and that both works crossed boundaries acceptable to CBS and Paramount relating to copyright law.

Axanar and Mr. Peters have agreed to make substantial changes to Axanar to resolve this litigation, and have also assured the copyright holders that any future Star Trek fan films produced by Axanar or Mr. Peters will be in accordance with the “Guidelines for Fan Films” distributed by CBS and Paramount in June 2016.

Paramount and CBS continue to be big believers in fan fiction and fan creativity. They encourage amateur filmmakers to showcase their passion for Star Trek. Paramount and CBS will not object to, or take legal action against, Star Trek fan productions that are non-professional, amateur, and otherwise meet the Guidelines, which can be found at http://www.startrek.com/fan-films. Paramount and CBS would like Star Trek fans, with their boundless creativity and passion, to “Live Long and Prosper.