The attorney for the producer of a Star Trek fan film called Axanar is asking that Paramount and CBS’ copyright infringement lawsuit be dismissed.
Back in December, CBS and Paramount sued Axanar producer Alec Peters, who has repeatedly claimed that the film is not a commercial venture and therefore is not copyright infringement. Peters also claimed that his story would use as little copyrighted Trek material as possible, since it takes place before the events in Star Trek: The Original Series.
Seeing as the producers raised over $1 million through crowdfunding and planned on using former Trek actors and production crewmembers, Paramount and CBS strongly disagreed. In addition, the story really does include previously created Trek characters, even if they are obscure ones.
On Feb. 23, the Trek news site 1701 News reported that the producers’ attorneys, Erin Ranahan of Winston & Strawn, Andrew Jick and Kelly Oki, filed a motion in U.S. District Court in California to have the case dismissed. Ranahan notes that Paramount and CBS didn’t specify which trademarks Axanar violates and didn’t explain which company owns which marks.
Ranahan also pointed out that the film hasn’t been made yet. Peters has only made a short film so far, and Paramount and CBS have allowed fans to make shorts for years. She also stressed that Peters isn’t planning on selling tickets or charging people to watch the movie.
“It is unfortunate that to purportedly ‘protect’ the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, CBS and Paramount have targeted some of its biggest fans with this lawsuit,” Ranahan told Fox News.
Ranahan added, “Historically, fan fiction has been a driving force in the Star Trek community. We are, however, still hopeful we can find a resolution that both satisfies Plaintiffs' concerns and allows Axanar to go forward with its film to fulfill the wishes of thousands of fans who have contributed.”
Paramount and CBS have not issued a statement on the motion yet.