Fox hits local ‘Firefly’ group with cease and desist

POSTED BY: HAKEN
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 02:39
VIEWED: 72294
PAGE 1 of 1

HAKEN

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:02 PM

MYSANANTONIO.COM - Tough break for area Firefly fans. Fox has hit San Antonio Browncoats with a cease and desist for public screenings of Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

SA Browncoats’ co-organizer Crystal Shedrock shared a copy of the notice that Fox sent to Emily Cleghorn, who runs SA Browncoats. Fox singled out the planned Buffy screening Friday at the Overtime Theater and the Firefly screening April 27 at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes, noting “the unauthorized public performance of a copyrighted work constitutes copyright infringement.” Shedrock says both screenings are cancelled...

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/geekspeak/2011/04/fox-hits-local-firefly-
group-with-cease-and-desist/

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:29 PM

So, what, when a university film club decides to show a movie in their common room...?

Gotta make sure anyone seeing any copyrighted material already owns the stuff and no virgin eyes ever see it. Can't have any new FANS from devilry like that, nosiree.

STORYMARK

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
So, what, when a university film club decides to show a movie in their common room...?

Gotta make sure anyone seeing any copyrighted material already owns the stuff and no virgin eyes ever see it. Can't have any new FANS from devilry like that, nosiree.

Schools usually have clearance for such screenings.

But doing a public screening at a movie theatre is undeniably against the law - and they are required to pursue it to maintain copyright.

And, if you'd read the link, you'd know it's not just Fox. Even if they agreed to it, Screen Actors Guild rules do not permit it, and had Fox allowed it to happen, they'd be liable for breath of contract with SAG.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

PIRATENEWS

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:49 PM

How long B4 FFF.net gets a C&D...?

If Fox lawyers had a brain between em, they'd sell cheap licenses to small indy resellers. Pricing would be a % of gross sales, no matter how cheap.

Problem is copyright lawyers bill at $400/hour, minimum. No money left for the starvin artists, of course.

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:52 PM

Yeah, fine, I didn't follow the link. Still seems dumb.

STORYMARK

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by piratenews:
How long B4 FFF.net gets a C&D...?

Stupid question. Discussion is not illegal. Public showings without permission are. Different matters. Try and keep up.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

ZEEK

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:43 PM

They must be newer fans. I thought the whole public screenings thing got axed years ago. They used to have them locally here until the crack down occurred. Pretty much thought most fans who have been around since then were aware of the policy.

HAKEN

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by piratenews:
How long B4 FFF.net gets a C&D...?

First rule of FFF.NET, don't talk about FFF.NET.

Nah, over the years I just assumed we have an unspoken understanding between us and FOX. I keep the fandom going, give credit where credit is due, help FOX/Universal sell some DVDs, and pretty much float like a leaf and everyone leaves us alone.

If you recall, as an easter egg, we are mentioned on the DVD somewhere. Does that count as an official endorsement?

Of course, and I probably have never said this, but some of the things you post makes things a bit difficult at times for this site and myself. But this site is more than just me, it's for the whole Browncoats community, and it's in the spirit of freedom found in the Firefly verse, so I let you be.

Still, would be best if we never get a ourselves into trouble, right? We don't mix well with the Alliance.

http://about.me/haken

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 10:06 PM

XD

I'm not surprised. Hoo boy. If it's not us and the crazy alarming fan behaviour, it's the political incorrectness. But yeah, we need our Pirate News types around here, even if SOMETIMES they post images with graphic content that I stumble on while I'm at work. >_>

ECGORDON

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:16 PM

The San Antonio group just needs to find the member with the biggest home theater and also has Netflix streaming to their big screen TV, since both Firefly and Buffy (along with Angel, Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible) are all available through that service. Problem solved.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

RIONAEIRE

Thursday, April 14, 2011 12:18 AM

Before I got into Firefly my local group used to host episodes at a local theater, that got axed years ago so I never got to see it. So I'm not surprised that San Antonio got in trouble. It may seem unfair (indeed it does) but its the rule and has been for a while. The interesting thing is that we got special permission to show OIS at a local Indie theater for our Shepherd's Tale event in Nov. I think that you can do it occasionally if you get special permission, we did it that once without trouble, I figure that maybe FOX would let someone get permission once a year or so maybe?

I can't help but think PirateNews is on to something, get a license to show things, pay a small fee and we can watch Firefly on the big screen in public theaters when we like, maybe a yearly renewal fee. The procedes from the screenings would go to pay the license fee for the year, plus you'd have some left over for your local Browncoat chapter, I think I'm on to something here ...

But for now its mostly not allowed.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

INVADERCHAT

Thursday, April 14, 2011 12:46 AM

So what happens if I want to take my own projector and privately watch Firefly/Serenity on my garage door or the outer wall of my house? I can't keep others from watching, it's not my fault they can see it from a hundred meters down the street.

LEXIBLOCK

Thursday, April 14, 2011 12:56 AM

And that is why copyright is wrong and amoral, and needs to be purged from law the sooner the better. It promotes greed, not art.

MOOSE

Thursday, April 14, 2011 12:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by HAKEN:
If you recall, as an easter egg, we are mentioned on the DVD somewhere.

We are? I missed that.

ANTHONYT

Thursday, April 14, 2011 1:52 AM

Hello,

I believe that Copyright is important in the promotion of art, as it assures that people get paid for their investment in the art.

However, I would be very glad to see adjustments in Copyright law to create a more equitable situation.

--Anthony

Assured by friends that the signal-to-noise ratio has improved on this forum, I have disabled web filtering.

THEONETRUEBIX

Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
The interesting thing is that we got special permission to show OIS at a local Indie theater for our Shepherd's Tale event in Nov. I think that you can do it occasionally if you get special permission, we did it that once without trouble, I figure that maybe FOX would let someone get permission once a year or so maybe?

Since this, in essence, was an event by Dark Horse and TFAW to promote an officially licensed product -- the Book book from Dark Horse -- I suspect they had an easier time getting permission.

RIONAEIRE

Thursday, April 14, 2011 5:23 AM

Hi Bix, you're the one who is really important but I've never seen at shindigs yet, they all say good things about you so that's why I figure you're important.

I agree with Anthony, we need copyright laws, but I like Invader Chat's idea, we could have a neighborhood outdoor Firefly party in the summer time at night, sounds like fun, can I come to your house and watch the side of your garage?
:)

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

LILI

Thursday, April 14, 2011 5:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Moose:
Quote:
Originally posted by HAKEN:
If you recall, as an easter egg, we are mentioned on the DVD somewhere.

We are? I missed that.

It's one of the sites that pops up in text during the 'Relighting the Firefly' feature. That's how I found this site.

Facts are stubborn things.

MOOSE

Thursday, April 14, 2011 6:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by LiLi:
It's one of the sites that pops up in text during the 'Relighting the Firefly' feature.

Duh, I knew that...massive brainfart...

IIRC, we were listed first.

DMI

Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
I agree with Anthony, we need copyright laws, but I like Invader Chat's idea, we could have a neighborhood outdoor Firefly party in the summer time at night, sounds like fun, can I come to your house and watch the side of your garage?

National Watch Firefly on your Garage to stick it to F*x Day? I'm in. I see the biggest deterrent as being street lights, however, not F*x.

-----------------------------
I pray for one last landing,
on the globe that gave me birth.
Let me rest my eyes on the fleecy skies
and the cool, green hills of Earth.

INVADERCHAT

Friday, April 15, 2011 2:32 AM

No no! Both of you, quiet! I'm JUST going to PRIVATELY watch Firefly on my garage door and while you are allowed to sit on the neatly laid out deck chairs that are coincidentally in place and have some popcorn you MUST avert your gaze from the screen.

Haha, jokes, but yeah, I honestly think that would be a good idea. It's basically the same as letting your friends come 'round for movie night...only you invite a whole lot of friends. No need to charge since it doesn't really cost you anything and if a bunch of people do it then yeah, it could be a 'Show Firefly on your garage to stick it to F*x day'.

So yes, RIONAEIRE, you and everyone else can come to my house, airfare to Australia not included.

MALSDOXY

Saturday, April 16, 2011 7:20 PM

GORRAMIT! I live in San Antonio, this a pile of goushi. and just what does it take to allow this to occur, dumptrucks loaded with cash I expect...

"Haven't you killed me enough for one day ?"
- Mal, War Stories

BORIS

Sunday, April 24, 2011 1:53 PM

Brain Fart? that's a new one for me...I like it

Rose S

SIKA56

Thursday, April 28, 2011 11:26 PM

Help! I've just had the Mandarin characters from the ship's logo tattooed on my right shoulderblade (yes, for real). Do I need to wear a shirt in public for the rest of my life? Am I barred from public swimming pools? Legal advice needed!

[img]]

[img][/img]
I got stupid. The money was too good.

RIONAEIRE

Friday, April 29, 2011 2:28 AM

Ha Ha.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

TWO

Friday, April 29, 2011 2:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Sika56:
Help! I've just had the Mandarin characters from the ship's logo tattooed on my right shoulderblade (yes, for real). Do I need to wear a shirt in public for the rest of my life? Am I barred from public swimming pools? Legal advice needed!

You are in big trouble, but not as much as this woman:

The woman is wearing a River dress and Serenity tattoo in obvious violation of Hollywood's intellectual property rights. The next time she is at Dragon*Con, she should fear being stripped naked of the dress and skinned alive of the tattoo by Universal Pictures lawyers. There won't be any stinking Cease-and-Desist letter that ordinary people would throw in the trashcan. Universal will confiscate their property. - www.fireflycargobay.com/index.php?title=Gallery&PHPSESSID=c6d43d1be408
6f4ba243382fab6f60ea

No lawyer will actually skin anyone. It is not worth doing. Cease-and-desist letters are cheap form letters used to intimidate the poor into complying. If the poor want to hurt FOX in the bank account, dare it to pay a real lawyer for a cease-and-desist order from a real judge in a real court room. FOX won't unless there is a fortune to be made. But sending out cease-and-desist letters is a very cheap way to bluff.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Monday, May 2, 2011 8:40 PM

I swore that there were still Can't Stop the Serenity charity screenings going on. Did I imagine that? Those take place at public theatres. Is it because it is for charity that it gets a pass from the legal beagles (the ones with smallish droppings)?

Just curious.

Frankly, I think FOX is dumb for harassing the people who are OBVIOUSLY promoting their product without demanding a retainer for said service.

That's right, WE PROVIDE FOX A SERVICE FREE OF CHARGE. And I have yet to see where anyone has been purposely deceitful or disrespectful in regards to such.

I'm curious if they sued the National Enquirer back when they used that image of Serenity and photoshopped it claiming it was a NASA spacecraft. I bet they didn't, and they were using the image MALICIOUSLY (and no, that doesn't mean "delicious Mal" you silly fan girls. :P). That's the difference to me, and FOX lawyers really should focus on the people mistreating their copyright, truly, and not the ones who are actually helping them make money (i.e. building the fan base so they can sell more DVD's)

Just my two cents worth (which after inflation equates to a wooden nickle)

BWAH!
TCM

http://www.cafepress.com/10thcrew

*Download my Firefly Games for FREE at
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=13&t=36208&m=664612

STORYMARK

Monday, May 2, 2011 10:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TenthCrewMember:

Frankly, I think FOX is dumb for harassing the people who are OBVIOUSLY promoting their product without demanding a retainer for said service.

You should read the thread better. Not only are the required by law to protect their copyright, in this case they were required to stop the screenings due to actors' contracts. Those darn actors.... thinking they should get paid for helping create the characters we love.

The bastards.

Your NASA example is irrelevant for a couple reasons, too. For one, it wasn't generating revenue or impeding it (even if in theory, such as free screenings). And two, it was likely covered under parody law.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

RIONAEIRE

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 12:26 AM

TCM a chara,
Browncoat groups who show the BDM for CSTS have special permission, it is a country wide/world wide event and once a year they are given a copy of the film to show on the big screen, they have to send back said copy though because there aren't that many of them, so another group can use it, that's why a lot of coordination has to go into it between Browncoat chapters.

I agree with you on an emotional level though, we're doing them a favor, but there are indeed laws about these sorts of things and even though they seem silly there are probably reasons for them that we don't understand. Note that I don't normally say that about laws that I don't personally like.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 1:59 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
TCM a chara,
Browncoat groups who show the BDM for CSTS have special permission

Which I personally did not know, so that makes sense in their cases. Still it does not change the crux of my stance against corporate idiocy. :)

Also, I would argue that any law that can't be understood by the average American is too complicated an unnecessarily burden with language in order to facilitate the need for lawyers...but that's a different kettle to cook in altogether. ;)

Thank you!

BWAH!

TCM

http://www.cafepress.com/10thcrew

*Download my Firefly Games for FREE at
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=13&t=36208&m=664612

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 2:19 AM

Okay, I've tried three times to respond to Storymark's post. WTF? So if it mysteriously shows up later in triplicate, my apologies.

To summarize it, I strongly disagree with you on almost every point, Storymark. Sorry. We'll have to agree to disagree.

I love to make point and counter-point. To debate. But clearly something is prohibiting me. Sad thing was, I wasn't even half as accusatory as you were in saying "read the thread". I did. My argument wasn't with that part of it. If I were arrogant, I'd suggest you re-read what I was saying, but I won't.

Instead, I resubmit in new terms, FOX did not HAVE to go after them, they chose to do so. They simply went after the weakest prey, despite that prey having helped them.

Not a corporate monkey,

TCM

http://www.cafepress.com/10thcrew

*Download my Firefly Games for FREE at
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=13&t=36208&m=664612

CANADIAN

Thursday, May 26, 2011 5:18 PM

=/

PIRATENEWS

Sunday, July 17, 2011 4:37 AM

I bet Fox hacked their phones and peeked in their bedroom windows.

Or hired Nazi hookers with videocambras.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1032803/Bizarre-sex-life-F1-bo
ss-Max-Mosley-revealed-court-insists-Its-perfectly-harmless-private.html
http://meaningfuldistractions.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/news_max_mosely
_nazi_hooker_trial_97869/

Quote:

Pulling the plug and running for theri lives, News Corp chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch with his Communist Chinese wife Deng Wen Di in the US yesterday

TYCOON Rupert Murdoch has announced the closure of Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, the 'News of the World', in a breathtaking response to the phone-hacking controversy engulfing his media empire.

As allegations multiplied that its journalists hacked the voicemails of thousands of people, from child murder victims to the families of war dead, the tabloid haemorrhaged advertising, alienated millions of readers and posed a growing threat to Murdoch's hopes of buying broadcaster BSkyB.

Yet no one, least of all the 168-year-old paper's 200 staff, was prepared for the drama of a single sentence that will go down as one of the most startling turns in the 80-year-old Australian-born press baron's long and controversial career.

The preamble to a statement from Murdoch's son James, who chairs the British newspaper arm of News Corp, said: "News International today announces that this Sunday, 10 July 2011, will be the last issue of the 'News of the World'."

He added: "The 'News of the World' is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself."

Journalists at the newspaper raged that they had been betrayed by former editor Rebekah Brooks, now the News International chief executive, who faces calls for her resignation, following revelations that the newspaper under her editorship hacked the phone of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

"Murdoch has sacrificed a newspaper to save one woman," one member of the newsroom said.

Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former director of communications at Downing Street and a former editor of the newspaper, was preparing to be questioned under caution over what he knew about phone hacking under his editorship.

James Murdoch denied perverting the course of justice by authorising payments to hacking victims.

Earlier in the day, major advertisers continued their exodus from the Sunday newspaper, with Sainsbury's, Asda, O2, Boots, Specsavers, Dixons and Npower joining companies such as Ford in suspending their relationship with the 'News of the World'. The Royal British Legion cut its ties with the paper over allegations of hacking of the families of military casualties in Iraq.

Scotland Yard admitted that almost 4,000 people may have had their phones hacked by the newspaper's private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, placing further strain on the testimony of senior officers to parliament that there were only

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/end-of-the-world-as-murdoc
h-pulls-plug-on-paper-2816200.html

Met police chief quits over phone hacking: Britain's top police officer, Sir Paul Stephenson, announced his shock resignation as he was brought down by his failure to tell senior figures, including the prime minister, that Scotland Yard had hired a former News of the World executive as an adviser while refusing to reopen inquiries into phone hacking.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/17/met-chief-quits-over-phone-ha
cking

News of the World phone-hacking whistleblower found dead: Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbusiness reporter who was the first named journalist to allege that Andy Coulson was

UFDA

Saturday, August 6, 2011 4:08 AM

If Fox was smart they would not have cancelled Firefly in the first place

There is no problem so large that it can't be solved with the proper application of explosives

ZZETTA13

Sunday, August 7, 2011 12:51 AM

Fox can $%#@&^$ - *%@#^ with gravy on it!

Z

MALSDOXY

Sunday, August 14, 2011 2:52 PM

or cerebral flatulence, if you prefer

"Haven't you killed me enough for one day ?"
- Mal, War Stories

STORYMARK

Monday, August 15, 2011 4:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TenthCrewMember:
Okay, I've tried three times to respond to Storymark's post. WTF? So if it mysteriously shows up later in triplicate, my apologies.

To summarize it, I strongly disagree with you on almost every point, Storymark. Sorry. We'll have to agree to disagree.

You can disagree all you like - it doesn't change the law.

Quote:
I love to make point and counter-point. To debate. But clearly something is prohibiting me. Sad thing was, I wasn't even half as accusatory as you were in saying "read the thread". I did. My argument wasn't with that part of it. If I were arrogant, I'd suggest you re-read what I was saying, but I won't.

Instead, I resubmit in new terms, FOX did not HAVE to go after them, they chose to do so. They simply went after the weakest prey, despite that prey having helped them.

Sorry you feel coming with knowledge rather than responding with emotion is arrogant.

And yes, they did have to go after them - it's the law. As was explained.... you know, had you read the whole thread.

Quote:
Not a corporate monkey,

Nor very well versed in reality, it would seem.

I never said I LIKED what Fox did. Sorry you cannot distinguish between stating the law, and being a "corporate monkey".

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

KIBBLES0515

Friday, October 14, 2011 7:30 PM

KIBBLES0515

Friday, October 14, 2011 7:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
So, what, when a university film club decides to show a movie in their common room...?

My university forces clubs to pay a fee if they want to show a movie at an official club meeting so the school can pay for copyrights.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, October 23, 2011 7:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

I believe that Copyright is important in the promotion of art, as it assures that people get paid for their investment in the art.

However, I would be very glad to see adjustments in Copyright law to create a more equitable situation.

--Anthony

Assured by friends that the signal-to-noise ratio has improved on this forum, I have disabled web filtering.

Sadly, the creators usually get a pittance.

I say, once a show has been dead for 5 years, cut out the middle men in suits altogether and watch the prices to screen such things go down considerably.

Courtney Love sold 25% of the stake of Nirvana for her drug addicitons for a meager 50 million bucks. With current copyright laws, they'll be making 100 fold over the next 50 years off of that, and you bet your ass that they'll be fighting tooth and nail to keep that work out of the public domain years after I've died of lung cancer, just like they've done with the Beatles.

"In April 2006, Love announced that she had arranged to sell 25 percent of her stake in the Nirvana song catalog in a deal estimated at $50 million. The share of Nirvana's publishing was purchased by Primary Wave Music, which was founded by Larry Mestel, a former CEO of Virgin Records. In an accompanying statement, Love sought to assure Nirvana's fanbase that the music would not simply be licensed to the highest bidder, noting, "We are going to remain very tasteful and true to the spirit of Nirvana while taking the music to places it has never been before."[75] Further releases have since been made. This includes the DVD releases of Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! in 2006,[76] and the full, uncut version of MTV Unplugged in New York in 2007.[77] The band's performance at the 1992 Reading Festival was released on both CD and DVD as Live at Reading in November 2009.[78] That same month, Sub Pop released a 20th anniversary deluxe edition of Bleach, which included a previously unreleased live concert from 1990.[79] A 20th anniversary deluxe edition of Nevermind is intended for release in September 2011.[80]"

Copyrights, like Communism, seem really good on paper, but when the people with all the power control them, they are misused most definately.

On a side note, you know how long it's been since I've been to a ballgame? When I was a kid, not all that long ago, I could see a Sox game, bleacher seats, with my old man for 4 bucks a pop. Speaking of pop, you could get a decent sized cup of it for little over a buck.

I'll be damned if I'm going to pay 40 bucks for the same bleacher seats today and pay 9 bucks for a 12 ounce bottle of shitty domestic beer.

All that skimming off the top has ruined a lot of entertainment for a lot of people. This is just another example of that.

FOX didn't give two shits about this show when it initially ran the episodes in whatever order they saw fit and then when they cancelled it VERY prematurely.

Seems pretty pathetic when they guard it like they do today, even if they can just pawn the blame off to SAG for that.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

TWO

Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Copyrights, like Communism, seem really good on paper, but when the people with all the power control them, they are misused most definitely. . . .

FOX didn't give two shits about this show when it initially ran the episodes. . . Seems pretty pathetic when they guard it like they do today, even if they can just pawn the blame off to Screen Actors Guild for that.

Copyright gives corporations opportunity to bully. The corporations claim they are only acting rationally, but it is not really about the money. From www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/walter-isaacsons-new-steve-
jobs-biography-sheds-light-on-apple-ceos-early-life/2011/10/20/gIQAD2R30L_story.html

Quote:
Google and Apple went head-to-head in smartphones, Apple with its iPhone and Google with its Android software.

Isaacson wrote that Steve Jobs was livid in January 2010 when HTC introduced an Android phone that boasted many of the popular features of the iPhone. Apple sued, and Jobs told Isaacson in an expletive-laced rant that Google’s actions amounted to “grand theft.”

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

Jobs used an expletive to describe Android and Google Docs, Google’s Internet-based word processing program. In a subsequent meeting with Google's Eric Schmidt at a Palo Alto, Calif., cafe, Jobs told Schmidt that he wasn’t interested in settling the lawsuit, the book says.

“I don’t want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won’t want it. I’ve got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that’s all I want.” The meeting, Isaacson wrote, resolved nothing.

I think of The Train Job while reading Steve Jobs: “Keep the money. Use it to buy a funeral. It doesn't matter where you go, how far you fly -- I will hunt you down and the last thing you see will be my blade.”

BARDOFSHADOW

Sunday, October 30, 2011 5:12 PM

I knew that trying to arrange a Serenity Screening for wounded soldiers at the military hospital here would be a complicated affair, but after reading this thread, the plans just died a very painful death.....

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

RIONAEIRE

Thursday, November 3, 2011 4:25 AM

I really want you to succeed at showing the movie at the hospital because everyone likes Firefly and most people, most people, like the BDM. I'm sorry your plans aren't working out so far, maybe showing an episode will work better? Do you know the people in charge? You could bring in your own DVD and sneak in a room with a projector, what the authorities don't know won't hurt them.

All I know is that my local indie theater is showing each new episode of The Walking Dead on Sun. nights, for free nonetheless, how that is happening I don't know, but there you have it.

As an aside I think you could totally pull off what you're thinking of, just do it.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

BARDOFSHADOW

Thursday, November 3, 2011 9:49 AM

I want to show it, too, Riona.
I'm what the Military calls a "Local National" and currently have no contacts with/in the Military, but my hometown is the center of the biggest US Military Community outside the US. (For those in the Service, it's the KMC, you might have either been here or come through on your way to Sandland)

It's a bit of an insane project, given that I have no connections and am all by myself, but I lived here all my life, worked at the bases or with military families, went to church with them or had a drink at the irish pub with some of the guys. One of the wounded there could have been someone I knew, even if just in passing. Plus, we all here benefit from the presence of the military, so I want to say thank you and give a little back.
(Sorry for the very long answer )

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

RIONAEIRE

Thursday, November 3, 2011 8:44 PM

What city is it?

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

BARDOFSHADOW

Thursday, November 3, 2011 9:28 PM

I'm in Kaiserslautern in South-West Germany. The Nato Base here is also known as "The Gateway To Europe" among the Military and a tiny little bit of it has been shown in the Harrison Ford movie "Airforce One" and even once in an american tv show, but I forgot which. Ramstein, where the Base is, has been called "The Unknown Famous Town" in a newspaper article once. But that suits us just fine. :D
And the Hospital, with lots of wounded and sick soldiers.

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

RIVERTAM1

Thursday, November 3, 2011 10:56 PM

Quote:
So yes, RIONAEIRE, you and everyone else can come to my house, airfare to Australia not included.

No problem for me, I can just drive!

I live in Australia.

The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds, given adequate vacuuming systems.

RIONAEIRE

Friday, November 4, 2011 12:15 AM

that's cool Shadow Bard, I like your name :) I don't know if Germany is as picky about that stuff there as America is, so maybe you could get away with it? For all I know though they may be more picky than America is. I still think if you brought in your big screen TV or movie projector and played the video no one would tattle on you, at least I hope no one would.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

MOOSE

Friday, November 4, 2011 12:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BardofShadow:
I knew that trying to arrange a Serenity Screening for wounded soldiers at the military hospital here would be a complicated affair, but after reading this thread, the plans just died a very painful death.....

I do hope that you continue to try. I have a buddy that spent some time there recuperating and he said they enjoyed whatever entertainment they could get.

I would try and encourage you by saying they would probably consider a screening in a hospital for wounded soldiers a bit different than one in a theater for the general public, but "they" are lawyers...

And actually, if you are planning on showing Serenity it would be Universal you would deal with. Any instances of Universal shutting down screenings?

And actually (pt2), have you checked with the CSTS folks to see if they can help out?

BARDOFSHADOW

Friday, November 4, 2011 8:43 AM

Moose, I hope your friend got more to see of my little corner of the world than just the LRMC.

Well, the plans to do something aren't fully dead yet, more like in a coma...

Never thought about contacting the CSTS folks, mainly because they are all on the other side of the pond and the group that once arranged a screening up in Hamburg, Germany, doesn't seem to be active anymore and I never found a contact address. I hope the German-American Community Office can be of help. But yeah, CSTS might have some helpful hints and maybe even some AD people that could help with the brainstorming. Contacted a group called "Project Rudolph" once and asked if they would like to help,(it's a little big a project for just one person) because they do a lot of stuff for the hospital and I used to go to church with the founder but was rudely shot down, I guess they didn't want me to sort of "move in on their territory" Pity, she might have gotten once again her face back in the newspaper or (again) on the news on AFN. Ah, well....

So far, I haven't heard or read of Universal shutting down any screenings. And they might not be adverse to do a little supporting of the troops....

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

BARDOFSHADOW

Friday, November 4, 2011 8:53 AM

Thanks, Riona :D It's kind of a bridge between my telling of original stories in my german blog, which is titled"The Bard's Heir" (Des Barden Enkel) and my Firefly Fics, so I decided to include Mal's Homeworld. The basic Idea I got from a guy on youtube, BardofCornwall, who has a magnificent voice. He sings a lot of celtic songs, plus one or the other original song plus a variety of other stuff.

As for the TV.... I don't own one and neither do I own a projector, I would have to borrow one or see if there is a place that rents them.

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

RIONAEIRE

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 1:45 AM

I hope you can do it.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

YT

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 6:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
I figure that maybe FOX would let someone get permission once a year or so maybe?

FOX has no say in the matter; their rights expired when they cancelled the series. the Fox mentioned by Haken is 20th Century Fox, the studio that paid Joss to make the series

Keep the Shiny Side Up,

YT

YT

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 7:10 PM

SHINYGOODGUY

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 8:34 PM

Fox, and other's, shortsightedness in this arena is legendary plus, it would only make sense. The Browncoat grassroots movement is what drove the DVD sales through the roof.

There's money to be made, if only we could use the Hubble telescope to find intelligent life on planet Fox. Not only would they make money on the license fees, but a boatload of cash from the newbies to the Verse.

I guess math is not their strongsuit (Man, it's so easy picking on Fox).

SGG

Tawabawho?

RANDYBKC

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 7:16 PM

How can Fox hit someone with a 'cease and desist' order when Firefly is a Universal production?

Randybkc

STORYMARK

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 9:02 PM

Because you are incorrect. Serenity was a Universal production. Firefly was Fox.

"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

QUANDOM

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 11:32 PM

"...should fear being stripped naked of the dress and skinned alive of the tattoo by Universal Pictures lawyers..."

While I have no problem with the stripping, given the pulchritude of the aforesaidmentioned young lady, I think skinning is extreme and unkind; The can just as well spray paint over the skin illustation for the duration of the'con.

LIONESS

Friday, January 20, 2012 2:45 AM

"I knew that trying to arrange a Serenity Screening for wounded soldiers at the military hospital here would be a complicated affair, but after reading this thread, the plans just died a very painful death....."

You could run a CSTS event & raise some money for Equality Now and show Serenity legally! You'd have to get permission from the hospital of course and I'm not sure how you would charge for it but it is worth considering perhaps.

CSTS Seven years and counting. http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com

BARDOFSHADOW

Friday, January 20, 2012 12:55 PM

At the hospital I am not allowed to charge admission or sell tshirts or other certain merchandise.
I might be allowed to put up a donation jar,so it can't be a "regular" csts event.

my next step will be to get in touch with military personnel or dependants that can help me get a foot in the door and give pointers on how to stay with certain military regulations
even I as as civilian/local national have to stick to. I'm guessing I will have to get in touch with universal,as a "pure" csts event might be out of the question, and ask what their stance on troup support is.

so....I guess my plan got a little bigger than first realized.... :P All I'd wanted is do something nice for the wounded.... *sigh*

Ps:of course,the first stepwas get registered at the csts site, for helpful hints and pointers,toget at least a slight idea of what I set myself up to.

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

LIONESS

Sunday, February 26, 2012 12:51 AM

Keep us up to date on how it is working out. And certainly fans over at the CSTS site may have ideas and help.

CSTS 2012 http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com

BARDOFSHADOW

Sunday, February 26, 2012 4:38 AM

I most certainly will, Lioness, thanks! :D
either here in the thread,or in my profile log.

It's a strange World, Charlie Brown

TWO

Friday, March 9, 2012 9:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by HAKEN:
Fox singled out the planned Firefly screening April 27 at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes, noting “the unauthorized public performance of a copyrighted work constitutes copyright infringement.”

A lawsuit over a poster that infringes copyright. Since it was Law School being sued, it did not meekly surrender:

Louis Vuitton's Campaign Against Free Speech
www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/03/09/louis_vuitton_s_campaign_again
st_free_speech.html

Part of America's trend over the past couple of decades toward insanely overbroad readings of intellectual property concepts has been a trend toward firms trying to assert that their ownership of trademarks constitutes some kind of wide-ranging repeal of the first amendment. Thus, Luis Vuitton has decided to send a cease and desist order to the University of Pennsylvania Law School over the poster you see on the left.

Their lawyer, Michael Pantalony, writes that "this egregious action is not only a serious willful infringement and knowingly dilutes the LV Trademarks, but also may mislead others into thinking this type of unlawful activity is somehow 'legal' or constitutes 'fair use' because the Penn Intellectual Property Group is sponsoring a seminar on fashion law and 'must be experts.'"

The university's general counsel is mounting a fairly narrow defense based on the right to parody, and of course that's the smart legal strategy since the lawyer's job is to win the case and not make a point. But from a journalistic perspective, quibbling over whether or not this poster constitutes a parody is really missing the boat. In a decent society you have to have an overwhelming presumption that a person is allowed to put whatever he wants on a poster. That's what it means to live in a country featuring the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. There are of course restrictions on where you can place a poster, but that's not what's at issue here. The claim is that Louis Vuitton has the authority to say what kinds of posters Penn Law School may and may not print and design. But why would that be? Under what circumstances would we want to grant private firms wide-ranging authority to censor the speech of academic institutions? I can't really think of any.

Now consider a different situation. Penn, like most universities, licenses and sells Penn-branded apparel. Louis Vuitton is also in the apparel business. You can imagine Penn or a Penn-licensee creating some Penn-licensed apparel that featured a pattern which might lead a consumer to believe that it was Vuitton-designed Penn-licensed apparal. Louis Vuitton might then reasonably order them to cease and desist their dilution of Vuitton's distinctive mark. Then you might have a controversy as to whether the pattern constituted some kind of parody worthy of an exemption. But when it comes to a poster there's simply no possible question of trademark law. Imagine Penn researchers want to host a discussion of research on the public health effect of soda, and want to advertise that panel with a photograph of a Coca-Cola can. If Coke tries to turn around and sue them, we don't want Penn's right to discuss Coca-Cola to be limited by some kind of parody concept. The issue is that Coke is in the beverage trade and Louis Vuitton is in the apparel trade whereas these are posters. There's no possible confusion or dilution.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

SVDRIFTER

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 2:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:
I never said I LIKED what Fox did. Sorry you cannot distinguish between stating the law, and being a "corporate monkey".

Storymark. Give it up. He will NEVER admit the fact that copyright law sometimes forces you to protect the rights of the creators. Heck, I've made my own short films for fun. I sure has hell got pissed when I caught someone having a party and showing the film (along with others) at a 'festival' and was charging admission. Even if he was NOT making money (which he was) it was wrong for him to get 'atta boys' from someone else's work. That's just wrong.

Any of us who write, draw, create don't want people USING our work without proper permission. Fair use is different, but we're not talking fair use here.

SVDRIFTER

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 2:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BardofShadow:
I knew that trying to arrange a Serenity Screening for wounded soldiers at the military hospital here would be a complicated affair, but after reading this thread, the plans just died a very painful death.....

Private screenings, like for your family and friends at a party are NOT considering public screenings. Since wounded veterans are NOT considered the general public and the general public cannot wander into the ward, it is considered a private party. Now if you charged admission, that would be problematic.