CBS Advises Second Star Trek Fan Film Not To Move Forward

If you’re in a cookie store with 12 other people, and every single one of you is stealing cookies, isn’t it fair to point that out if you’re the only one singled out for punishment by the security guard?

It’s not Axanar bullshit, it’s simple logic.

Again, it comes down to your definition of profit. Did Axanar go too far (non-profit corporation, intention to set up a studio to rent to fan films, personal salaries, etc.)? That may be. It’s not something that I would have done in their place.

But the definition of “going too far” has not been defined concretely at any time by CBS/P. In fact they repeatedly avoided codifying any formal rules. That means that ALL fan films exist at their pleasure. ANY fan film that ran a Kickstarter or Indigogo campaign could be found to have “gone too far” at any time. ANY fan-project at all could be found to have gone too far, whether they raised $1M or $10K. Because all of them are law-breakers acting at the pleasure of the IP owners.

Change of executives at CBS/P? Suddenly the definition of “going too far” changes. New official film and/or series coming out? The definition changes again. CBS/P going up for sale, or having a bad year? The definition changes once more. The definition becomes whatever it needs to be at any one time.

There are at least 2 other fan-productions besides Axanar that raised significant sums via crowdfunding. Neither of which provided the degree of financial transparency that Axanar did. CBS/P are likely looking at that (barely subsistence level for SoCal) salary and wondering what isn’t being disclosed by other projects.

Did another project pay someone to make a costume or prop? Did they pay carpenters to transform their garage into a bridge set? Did they rent or buy cameras to shoot with? Buy computers or lighting equipment? Sound-mixing equipment? Did they reimburse for travel? Did someone ever dip into the funds to pay an overdue personal bill because they weren’t working at the time? Did they get interviews and publicity that would profit them indirectly, and maybe even get them jobs elsewhere?

ALL of that would be considered profiting from someone else’s IP. There’s just no nice, tidy financial report to look at.

That, by the way, is an argument. Trolls don’t argue facts, and never go into detail. Trolls (paid or otherwise) just insult and re-post the same tired talking points over and over.

Your insults do have a certain poetic eloquence in their vulgarity, but they’re still just insults. Your refusal to argue facts says it all really. You literally have nothing of consequence to say.

You’re arguing BTW, with someone who’s actually worked professionally in the film business. My best performing picture beat the pants off of every single Trek film at the box office. So you’ll excuse me perhaps if I chuckle at your accusations of my not knowing anything.

(Looks up Ares’s incorporation status)

Ares is an S-corporation, where any profits/losses are passed through to be paid (or kept) by the shareholders. The corporation itself is not legally allowed to keep assets, and does not pay taxes.

https://www.bizfilings.com/learn/s-corporation-advantages-and-disadvantages.aspx

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070925102643AASjBp1

A good question would be whether Alec Peters is a shareholder or not.

Ares claims to be “operating as a non-profit” (whatever that means in California) in anticipation of being accepted as a 501c3 (Non-Profit) corporation by the IRS. A process that can take a while (I’ve researched it before in another state).

By operating now as an S-Corp, I’m guessing that they have a better case for being considered non-profit in spirit. Since registering as a C-Corp before reaching 501c3 status would make them no different than any other for-profit company while they wait. Once they get approved, they would then re-register as a C-Corp operating under IRS rules.

There’s also the law’s definition of a “Non-Profit Corporation”, and whatever CBS/P think “Don’t make money” means. These are almost guaranteed not to match up. Which, BTW, is why CBS/P should be putting fan productions under contracts that can hold them to CBS/P’s definitions of these things. Because without contracts, their only recourse is copyright infringement litigation.

I’m sure Ares have lawyered all this out in great detail, but it’s really only something that lawyers can meaningfully argue, because it’s going to involve a lot of complex rules and precidents that don’t easily translate into quick soundbites.

My impression though, is that Ares is acting in good faith on their way to 501c3 status, whatever that’s worth.

But I can’t speak to their accounting, who’s actually holding the crowdfunding monies, or what paying salaries to certain people will or won’t do to their case.

We can have all the opinions on these that we want to, but legally this is strictly a copyright case, and these things will only have meaning to a jury in terms of intent and perceived damages to CBS/P’s business. Which will manifest themselves in how much or how little the final judgement against Axanar ends up being.