Will Fan-Fiction Live Long and Prosper?: Exploring the New Relationship Between Entertainment Companies and Their Audiences

Fan-films: The final frontier of fan-fiction law. Recent litigation between a group of Star Trek fan-filmmakers and Paramout and CBS, the corporations that own the franchise's intellectual property, have altered a tacit truce between studios and fan creators. After the creators of a Star Trek fan-film entitled Axanar successfully raised over $1 million on crowdfunding websites, the studios took notice. CBS and Paramount sued for copyright infringement for benefiting off of their intellectual property, while the Axanar crew claimed fair use for not making money off of the project.

The litigation ended in settlement, a preliminary ruling may have set an important precedent for the future. Zachary Fialkow looks at this ordeal, explaining how the lawsuit should put fan-filmmakers on notice that liability does not stop at monetary profit. In addition, Fialkow argues that this new status quo can offer clarity from a legal perspective without totally stifling independent creativity.