Following two unsuccessful motions to dismiss the copyright infringement lawsuit against them, Axanar Productions and producer Alec Peters on May 23, 2016, filed a formal Answer to the legal complaint filed against them by CBS and Paramount Pictures.

The Answer included a counterclaim by the defendants, seeking further relief for harm caused to Axanar by the plaintiff’s lawsuit.

The Answer was filed just three days after Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams and Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin announced at a fan event in Los Angeles that they had interceded with the plaintiffs on Axanar’s behalf, and the lawsuit was “going away within the next few weeks.”

The May 20 statement was widely construed by the media as CBS and Paramount dropping or withdrawing the suit, although a followup statement by Paramount clarified the two sides were negotiating a settlement, and drafting a set of guidelines for fan productions.

Had the studios planned on withdrawing their suit, that possibility was foreclosed on May 23 by the Answer’s including a counterclaim by the defendants against the studios, asking for additional relief based on harm inflicted on the defendants by the suit.

By asserting their own claims against the plaintiffs, the defendants now “put the plaintiffs into a defensive posture regarding these counterclaims, and the defendant acts in an offensive posture. Thus, for example, the defendant bears the burden of proof on counterclaims.”¹⁾

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the plaintiffs must defend against the counterclaims, starting with a 21-day deadline to file their own Answer, followed by another 21 days for the defense to respond.²⁾ The defendants’ move had the effect of preventing the plaintiffs from simply withdrawing the suit.

A prepared statement on behalf of Axanar Productions stated the defendants had to proceed with filing their Answer, including the counterclaims, irrespective of Abrams’ and Lin’s May 20 announcement in support of the film:

This filing was necessary because, despite J.J. Abrams’ assurance that the lawsuit would be “going away,” and confirmation that CBS is in settlement talks and finally working on fan film guidelines, Paramount and CBS have not yet dismissed the lawsuit. Axanar Productions must therefore meet deadlines set by the court and proceed as if the lawsuit will continue until the situation is resolved.³⁾

Ironically, if the defendants had wanted the plaintiffs to simply withdraw the suit, the counterclaim made it impossible for them to do so. That meant the way to resolve the suit was now only through a negotiated settlement.

Meanwhile, Axanar attorney Ranahan told the Axanar-supporter blog, “Fan Film Factor,” the defense sought only “a single claim for declaratory relief [and that] this claim is not ‘upping the ante’ given that we are not seeking any monetary damages, but simply a declaration of fair use or non-infringement.”⁴⁾

For almost half the pleading’s 28 pages, attorney Erin Ranahan of the Winston & Strawn law firm representing the defendants, issued straightforward denials of the claims made in the legal complaint.

Throughout the Answer, Ranahan supports the her position with the phrase, “Defendants lack knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of the allegations, and on that basis deny them.” The phrase sounds worse than it is. It’s legalese for “prove it, plaintiffs,” which is what happens during discovery and ultimately at trial.

In the pleading, the defendants admit only that they:

• Produced the short film, Prelude to Axanar.
• Intended to produce the feature, Axanar.
• Created, and continued to develop, a script for Axanar.
• Raised more than $1 million in fan donations to produce Prelude to Axanar and Axanar.

In the pleading, the defendants denied that:

• Prelude and Axanar (together referred to by the plaintiffs as the “Axanar Works”) infringe, are substantially similar to, or are derivative of the Star Trek works.

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