Lawyer Submits Brief Partially in Klingon for Paramount Language Lawsuit

Post by gamblor956 » Thu, Apr 28, 2016, 6:32 PM UTC

saganus wrote: post #41

saizai wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They had a kickstarter for the preview film (to prove they could do it) and then another for the full. Also, "fan" might make you think they're amateurs. They're very much not; take a look at the cast and crew list.

Yeah, that why I Was surprised by the term "fan film". So what exactly does qualify as one? just as long as you don't have the copyright I guess? I mean, at which point is "fan fiction" illegal? is the legality status correlated with the production values and budget?

Post by throwanem » Thu, Apr 28, 2016, 7:43 PM UTC

gamblor956 wrote: post #42

saganus wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that why I Was surprised by the term "fan film". So what exactly does qualify as one? just as long as you don't have the copyright I guess? I mean, at which point is "fan fiction" illegal? is the legality status correlated with the production values and budget?

A fan fiction would generally be a hobbyist film, created without the expectation of profit or even income, financed out-of-pocket. Basically, all of the things Axanar is not. It's a quality low-budget production, but it's definitely not a fan film.

Post by chris_wot » Thu, Apr 28, 2016, 9:01 PM UTC

AimHere wrote: post #26

HCIdivision17 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IANAL, so I'm hoping I'm understanding this right: because Okrand wrote the dictionary, and in it claimed that he learned it from an actual Klingon, he may not now say he invented it? The argument kinda being, if the language is real, and he wrote a non-fiction authoratative book on it... then he can't be inconsistent about the origins? It's hard for me to wrap my head around it, but it's hilariously clever if I'm re…

That's the gist. This is the lawyer having (even more) fun with the lawsuit, because why the hell wouldn't you have fun in a job like this? I'm pretty sure that he and the judge both know that Okrand's claim was a fiction/joke and that this isn't a serious legal notion to be ruled upon.

Post by hlieberman » Thu, Apr 28, 2016, 11:30 PM UTC

busterarm wrote: post #29

saizai wrote: post #11

See also LCS press release:  http://conlang.org/axanar/ Disclosure: I founded the LCS, directed our participation as amicus in this case, and am press contact for this issue. Marc Randazza wrote the awesome amicus brief (linked in OP) pro bono.

Mark Randazza the same lawyer who installed malware on peoples' computers and tried to extort money from them for illegally downloading gay porn? https://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2015/07/09/marc-randazza-mu... http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/how-copyright-law... (ransomware, even - of the 'pay me $4k within 30 days or I'll disable your computer' variety...it doesn't get any more scummy)

Post by throwanem » Fri, Apr 29, 2016, 11:15 AM UTC

gamblor956 wrote: post #47

throwanem wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. The driving force behind it is Alec Peters, who is basically doing it because he's a huge Star Trek fan. So I think the "fan film" label is not entirely unfair, although in this case it needs the disclaimer I gave it regarding quality.

It doesn't matter that he's a "huge" fan. It matters that he collected outside money to make it, and was planning on making money from sales of the video and licensed products.