In case you did not know, Star Trek
is a franchise of science fiction movies. It was created by Gene Roddenberry
and is composed of five television series with real actors, An animated TV
series created in 2D, 21 movies, video games, and the most important and as far
we will focus on this blog are fictional narratives written by fans, which have
been produced in video.
Paramount Pictures and CBS sued the
makers of a fan movie of Star Trek, claiming that his use infringes copyright.
Later, CBS and Paramount gave up their claim for copyright violation against
the film made by fans. Then, they made public a letter in which he said they
want to encourage creativity and will support Star Trek fans only if they
follow guidelines established.
These guidelines may be removed or modified when Paramount or CBS want, does
not mean that waive any right that may have with respect to fan fiction created
outside of the guidelines.
Here are mentioned the guidelines,
taken from the official Star Trek page:
1.
The fan production
must be less than 15 minutes for a single self-contained story, or no more than
2 segments, episodes or parts, not to exceed 30 minutes total, with no
additional seasons, episodes, parts, sequels or remakes.
2.
The title of the fan production or any parts cannot include the name “Star
Trek.” However, the title must contain a subtitle with the phrase: “A STAR
TREK FAN PRODUCTION” in plain typeface. The fan production cannot use the
term “official” in either its title or subtitle or in any marketing, promotions
or social media for the fan production.
3.
The content in the fan production must be original, not reproductions,
recreations or clips from any Star Trek production. If non-Star Trek third
party content is used, all necessary permissions for any third party content
should be obtained in writing.
4.
If the fan production uses commercially-available Star Trek uniforms,
accessories, toys and props, these items must be official merchandise and
not bootleg items or imitations of such commercially available products.
5.
The fan production must be a real “fan” production, i.e., creators, actors
and all other participants must be amateurs, cannot be compensated for their
services, and cannot be currently or previously employed on any Star
Trek series, films, production of DVDs or with any of CBS or Paramount
Pictures’ licensees.
6.
The fan production must be non-commercial:
CBS and
Paramount Pictures do not object to limited fundraising for the creation of a
fan production, whether 1 or 2 segments and consistent with these guidelines,
so long as the total amount does not exceed $50,000, including all platform
fees, and when the $50,000 goal is reached, all fundraising must cease.
The fan production must only be exhibited or distributed on a no-charge
basis and/or shared via streaming services without generating revenue.
The fan production cannot be distributed in a physical format such as DVD
or Blu-ray.
The fan production cannot be used to derive advertising revenue including,
but not limited to, through for example, the use of pre or post-roll
advertising, click-through advertising banners, that is associated with the fan
production.
No unlicensed Star Trek-related or fan production-related
merchandise or services can be offered for sale or given away as premiums,
perks or rewards or in connection with the fan production fundraising.
The fan production cannot derive revenue by selling or licensing
fan-created production sets, props or costumes.
7.
The fan production must be family friendly and suitable for public
presentation. Videos must not include profanity, nudity, obscenity,
pornography, depictions of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or any harmful or illegal
activity, or any material that is offensive, fraudulent, defamatory, libelous,
disparaging, sexually explicit, threatening, hateful, or any other
inappropriate content. The content of the fan production cannot violate any
individual’s right of privacy.
8.
The fan production must display the
following disclaimer in the on-screen credits of the fan productions and on any
marketing material including the fan production website or page hosting the fan
production:
“Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are
solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by,
sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star
Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made film intended for
recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is
permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or
Paramount Pictures.”
9.
Creators of fan productions must not seek to register their works, nor any
elements of the works, under copyright or trademark law.
10.
Fan productions
cannot create or imply any association or endorsement by CBS or Paramount
Pictures.
Bibliography:
