A US District Court Judge has sided with Paramount and CBS in a copyright lawsuit involving the Star Trek fan film Axanar, which had raised over a million dollars via crowdfunding. The filmmakers had argued that Paramount’s lawsuit was premature because the film hadn’t been created yet, and that they could proceed because Axanar fell under fair use. The court rejected both claims, but did allow the case to proceed with a jury to determine whether or not the project was substantially similar to the original Star Trek series.

Axanar was developed as a prequel to the original Star Trek series, telling the story of Garth of Izar and his fight against the Klingon Empire during The Four Years War. In 2014, Axanar productions crowdfunded and…

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