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Re: URGENT!! The Wrath of Viacom!




On 16 Dec 1996, Steve Krutzler wrote:

> Bascially, Viacom has decided that all Star Trek pictures, sound bytes,
> clips, everything, is in violation, and cannot be placed on fan pages.
> 
> Basically, they continue to judge the internet just like television or
> magazines and other media, when in fact, an entire new set of rules must be
> made for the Internet.
> 
  [snip]
> 
> I find it terribly alarming that they are taking this action. Pictures and
> sounds etc. should be allowed to be posted on the Internet. Heck, basic
> pages such as TrekWeb.COM that deal with ALL Trek including discussion and
> mainly an Archive of Trek-related photos, sounds etc. may be shut down
> (NEVER!).

	As several other posters have written, legally speaking
Viacom/Paramount can do what it wants with the characters, images,
stories, situations, whatever that it has trademarked or copyrighted.

	But it's tough, as a Star Trek fan producing/archiving
material with every intention to support the franchise, to be attacked
by the creators of the material (rightfully or not) for doing it.  I think
it's analagous, in a way, to knowing that whatever suggestions/comments
you make on this newsgroup, or anywhere else, you're just going to be
ignored by Viacom/Paramount (and most of the show's creators.)

	Star Trek fans, I think, by virtue of the show's 30-year history,
feel a certain amount of ownership of the program, some responsibility for
its success.  And moreover, I think ST fans believe that they were
responsible for "keeping the show warm" betwen TOS and ST:TMP, and feel
that Paramount/Viacom ought to have more respect for the culture
surrounding the show.  So, shutting down websites feels a bit like a
betrayal.

	I have no idea if there is any way to prevent Viacom/Paramount
from doing whatever they want to.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if this
desire to purge the web of non-MSN ST pages comes as much from Microsoft
as it does from V/P.  With the advent of WebTV (certainly a comment on how
corporate America would like to view the future of the 'net) or whatever
technology comes out _next_ month, and the month after, the internet is
going to become less and less tolerant.

	So on the one side we have fans who want their pages, want to use
images from their favorite show, want to do what they want to do, on a
medium which has, at least up till now, been (essentially) free of outside
control.  And then we have the owners of the property, who (probably) want
to control and profit from every occurance of their trademarked objects.

	Is there a middle ground we can strike, where corporations
and the freedom we cherish about the net can exist side by side?  Could
Paramount/Viacom, for instance, provide a blanket license to people to use
their materials in not-for-profit situations (including ad dollars, etc
etc), so we fans could have our web pages.  And on the fans' part, they
would use the images/names/whatever in good faith, keeping true to the
series, and publishing (on one page or other) a legal thing, saying that
all of the character names, etc, are trademarked.

	That's a simplistic suggestion, and although a serious one, it's
got all kinds of holes in it, etc.  But a new media is going to require
some new rules, I think, and might bring about a new relationship between
corporation and customer.  At least I hope so.

	So, instead of fighting them, would it be productive to try to
join them?  We are all on the same side (very broadly speaking, of course)
and interested in a long and healthy future for the franchise.  Would
Paramount/Viacom/Microsoft be willing to take on a large number of
evangelists, instead of quashing what is probably one of the richest and
most complex internet "subcultures"?




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  Allen Blue | Drama Dept. | Stanford University | servo@leland.stanford.edu  
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                               Fear no art.





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