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Re: NEWS: Paramount is Shutting Down Trek Websites!!!
"Darkwynd (J.Martin)" <forget@you.com> writes:
>The question is, just how flexible is Viacom willing to be? The official
>Trek sites have next to nothing on them, they suck. I read the letter
>that Viacom sent to one of the sites. It seems to imply, if not actually
>say, that people who create artwork of any Star Trek entity is also in
>violation of the copyright. If so, this alienates quite a few people.
>I was going to add some original art of trek from a friend of mine and a
>few pictures taken from some favorite episodes for my personal web page.
>Does this mean that I would be in violation of the copyright as well?
In short, yes. Paramount licenses out the rights to sell Star Trek
merchandise. This includes souvenirs, artwork, and novel rights. Simply
put, they want creative control and a piece of the action. Since they own
Star Trek, it's their right to protect their franchise. Since it's a major
cash cow for them, they intend to protect their investment. Copyright
violations lessen the value of legitimate material.
Note that my understanding is that at least one of the motivating factors
behind this was a number of the novels which played fast and loose with the
genre. "Triangle" springs to mind. Considering that novel, I don't blame
them. However, they alienated some of the better writers by going too far
with their restrictions (Diane Duane springs to mind).
Jim
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Jim Griffith /--OO--\ | Two great powers are on our side: the power of
griffith@netcom.com | Love and the power of Arithmetic. These two are
BEWARE BATS WITHOUT NOSES! | stronger than anything else in the world.
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