tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 15 20:28:29 2003
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Re: trademark and copyright
- From: Mitchell Willie <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: trademark and copyright
- Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:26:16 -0500
Ideally, Paramount would give writers and artists of all sorts liberty
to do as they pleased, *so long as* it stayed within parameters set by
Paramout itself. For example, if someone were to write a story about
Ferengi, or a short film about Romulans, it would be subject to
Paramount-issued guidelines that would keep it "in the spirit" of all
that is canon. Note I say, "ideally". Perhaps this will happen someday in
the future?
Paramount's legal hold on all things Trek is a two-edged sword. One the
one hand, it irritates us, like sand in unsavory places, but it is
necessary to maintain the universe. Because if one is allowed to do
anything with Trek, it ceases to be Trek...(did that make sense?)
On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 19:01:51 -0600 "Lady K'Lyssia" <[email protected]>
writes:
> In copyright there is a clause regarding "Fair Use" and while many
> use this to get around the issue when they write fan fiction it is
> still a violation of trademark issues. Copyright would come into a
> play more seriously with fan fiction if they were putting out copies
> of officially published material.
>
> Some points to remember - no matter how much we hate the legalities
> involved it is imperative Paramount fight to protect the Trademarks
> they have in regards to Star Trek.
>
> Case in point. Bayer pharmaceuticals originally developed aspirin as
> a pain reliever, but never fought to protect the trademark and as a
> result the word aspirin is now considered a generic term and can be
> used by any company that produces a similar product.
>
> Companys that have come close to losing Trademarks include:
> Rollerblades / Kleenex / XeroX and many others.
>
> While they enjoy the name recognition that comes with some one
> saying "Hand me a Kleenex" instead of "Hand me a tissue" they don't
> what to lose their exclusive right to use that name to identify
> their product either.
>
> As a writer this is an issue I am concerned with. And, one I have
> tap danced around also in writing my own Trek fan fiction and
> editing an online Trek e-zine.
>
> With some of the fan fiction that is out there I know I don't want
> to see any one and their brother being able to do anything they want
> with Star Trek. However, I would like to see a little more freedom
> in the licensing that allows fans more latitude to play in their
> universe without having to worry if the lawyers are coming after
> them.
>
>
> My Two Strips of Latinum Worth
>
> Carol (Lady K'Lyssia) Hightshoe
> Don't Write What You Know; Write What You Care About--Passionately!
> Available Publications - http://www.klyssia.com/MarketPlace1.html
> A Study of Klingon Genetics (Where Did Those Ridges Come From?)
> Captain's Log, Stardate ...
> Midnight Song (Romantic Fantasy Short Story)
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 4:00 PM
> Subject: Re: trademark and copyright
>
>
> I'm just curious, if someone were to produce an amateur
> Klingon film that was not sold but just posted on a
> website, how does this differ from fan fiction using
> the Trek universe that someone writes and posts on a
> Website? I've seen plenty of examples of the latter,
> including some that I _know_ take the characters in
> directions that Paramount would not like. Are all of
> those illegal? And if these are legal, what distinguishes
> a filmed fanfic story from a written one?
>
> -- ter'eS
>
>
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