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Re: Viacom shutting down ST websites




On Sat, 21 Dec 1996 11:57:06 -0500, judis@interport.net (Judi Sohn)
wrote:

>In article <32bb8672.3980655@news.dx.net>, shannara@pnx.com wrote:
>
>>         Dear sir,
>>         Apparently you haven't been around this business very long and
>> obviously know nothing of the history of Star Trek. 
>
>Not the best way to start and win. You don't tell a company that they don't
>know about their own business. It only serves to make you look foolish.
>
>> If it wasn't for
>> the fans, you literally would not have this cash cow you call Star
>> Trek. It was fans that undertook a massive mail-in campaign to
>> save Star Trek and bring it back a third season. But NBC was
>> determined to kill it and wouldn't support it that third year. But
>> fans still kept the faith and wrote non-profit fan stories and kept it
>> alive in their hearts. Then came the reruns and fans went for
>> Trek bigtime, and eventually the popularity was great enough
>> to support movies and then spinoff shows.
>
>You can't compare the two. Fans in 1967 didn't freely exchange pictures and
>video of the show that they did not pay for on the scale that is happening
>today. That's the problem. Nowhere have I seen that Paramount/Viacom wants
>to shut down these sites simply because they're about Star Trek. It's the
>video/pictures/.wavs that they object to. Learn about what is and isn't
>fair use and take advantage of it. Make a parody site, talk about ideas,
>just don't steal imagery from the show/movies.
>
Well, there's NO REASON that P/V can't allow the use of pictures on
web sites promoting Trek, as long as the proper copyright and
trademark notices are included.  Admittedly, this hasn't always been
done, but that's mostly been out of ignorance.

Paramount could VERY EASILY keep their copyright under these
circumstances.  And if they are concerned about controlling content as
to WHICH pictures or sound files get published, then they could
provide a page with a bunch of official P/V Star Trek files (picture,
sound, and movie) that are to be used for promotional purposes.  It's
done for magazines and tv shows all the times, and is considered
typical publicity.  There's no reason they couldn't do it here!

>> Don't ever forget who buys the books, the collectibles and the toys.
>> It's the fans. The same people who, driven by their love for Trek, 
>> have created free sites to PROMOTE your cash cow!
>
>There is a difference between PROMOTE and GIVE AWAY THEIR COPYRIGHTED
>MATERIAL. Nothing is wrong with a website that says "the new Star Trek
>book/toy/collectible is great. Everyone should get it." But you can't say
>"here's a copy of it." 
>
True.  But with the possible exception of the Rules of Acquisition,
with is mainly a list, no one is giving away full commercial products
here.  And, for the record, if Vidiot got rid of the quotes that were
exclusive to the book, except maybe one or two of the best, then the
list would be a collection of quotes from the show, which is
completely legal, along with proper attribution.

>> The Internet is a place for free exchange
>> of ideas. The fans simply are not going to accept anything else.
>
>Ideas? fine. Pictures and videos of commercial products? No.
>
Why not?  The nightly news and newspapers show pictures and videos of
commercial products all the time!

>I think that Paramount/Viacom is afraid of losing their ownership of Star
>Trek if they continue to let the brazen robbery of their copyright
>continue. By allowing so many sites to take their material and not say
>anything, they are in fact condoning it. If Paramount loses control of Star
>Trek, that is definitely *not* in the fans best interest.
>
Well, Warner Brothers seems to understand that as long as there are
copyright notices published, that they can legally maintain their
copyrights AND allow fans to PROMOTE their show (in this case, Babylon
5, a show that I don't watch, for the record.)

There is NO REASON that P/V can't adopt this policy!  At the very
least they could provide official P/V pictures and videos for gfans to
use.  Admittedly, there would have to be abunch so that the sites
wouldn't look the same, but it would seem to be the job of the
publicity department to PROMOTE the shows, especially as ratings are
lagging!  Instead, they have a publicity NIGHTMARE on their hands!




David H.

On the twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love game to me:
 Twelve Legionnaires
 Eleven Euro-dance songs
 Ten pinball sims
 Nine wooden coasters
 Eight Doctor Who's
 Seven hunky men
 Six Nowhere Man's 
 Five Doom clones
 Four Star Trek series
 Three pinball games
 Two Mulders searching
 And an inverted roller coaster
(Yes, I'm Jewish, but this let me get in 4 more things!)
Happy holidays everyone!




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