AxaMonitor’s Latest News


PETERS GETS PROTECTION In a Georgia court, Axanar producer Alec Peters convinced a judge to extend a temporary protective order against ardent critic Shawn O’Halloran for 12 months but did the ruling actually follow the law? Meanwhile, instead of crowing over the victory, Axanar supporters falsely peddled a claim that AxaMonitor had been ejected from the courtroom. Read more »



PETERS NOW CHARGED WITH ASSAULT In a revised version of the Atlanta police report citing Alec Peters for an altercation at DragonCon, the Axanar producer now faces a criminal assault charge instead of disorderly conduct. Meanwhile, Peters is preparing for a hearing for a permanent protective order against ardent critic Shawn O’Halloran, even though Peters’ sworn statement contradicts the police report and two videos. Read more »


Peters Crime
CRIMINAL CHARGE Watch AxaMonitor’s exclusive video showing the confrontation between Axanar producer Alec Peters and Shawn O’Halloran that led to Peters being charged with disorderly conduct. Meanwhile, Peters has filed for a temporary protective order against O’Halloran in a Georgia court. Read more »


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BREAKING THE SILENCE In an extensive AxaMonitor interview, fired Axanar writer-director Paul Jenkins strikes back against producer Alec Peters’ defamation claims after almost a year of public silence. Jenkins is raising money for a documentary exposing Peters as a case study in toxic fandom, and as a bully misusing the legal system to harm critics — all while failing to deliver Axanar after seven years. Read the full interview or a condensed version.



FRAUD AND SETTLEMENT BREACHES We’ve obtained a copy of the long-secret CBS settlement as a fraud allegation is added to fired Axanar director Paul Jenkins’ counterclaim against producer Alec Peters. Meanwhile, Peters’ suspected ongoing settlement breaches are confirmed by the confidential agreement’s public release. Download the entire CBS settlement, and learn about the dark schemes hatched by Peters and his online henchmen. Read more »


READ THE CBS SETTLEMENT Examine the Axanar-CBS settlement, with AxaMonitor’s annotations demonstrating producer Alec Peters’ multiple breaches of the agreement to which he and Axanar Productions are legally bound. Read more »



BUNGLED APPEAL Nearly three weeks late in filing vital documents in the Tardigrades copyright suit against Star Trek: Discovery‘s creators, attorneys for game developer Anas Abdin have put the case in danger of dismissal by an appeals court. Meanwhile, all $20,000 raised on GoFundMe to support the appeal has gone to Abdin’s lawyer. Read more »



TARDIGRADES APPEAL After seeing his copyright case against CBS and Netflix over Star Trek: Discovery dismissed in federal court, Tardigrades game creator Anas Abdin pursues an appeal, with a YouTube conspiracist leading a $20,000 GoFundMe campaign to pay for it. Read more »



BREACH OF SETTLEMENT In AxaMonitor Daily: Just days before Axanar Lite was to go before the cameras, CBS/Paramount lawyers reportedly tell producer Alec Peters that he and Axanar Productions have violated terms of the 2017 settlement of their rancorous Star Trek copyright lawsuit. Read more »



RAW DEAL? A former Propworx employee says Axanar producer Alec Peters failed to pay the widow of deceased Emmy-winning VFX artist Gary Hutzel $94,400 from the sale of her husband’s Enterprise model, which appeared in the Deep Space Nine episode, “Trials and Tribble-ations.” Read more »


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TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE In AxaMonitor Daily: After dismissing his case against former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett, Axanar producer Alec Peters seeks to simultaneously resolve two legal disputes, but it will cost his former PR director, Mike Bawden, $18,000. Read more »



BURNETT LAWSUIT DISMISSED In AxaMonitor Daily: After former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett answered Alec Peters’ Georgia legal complaint, Peters quickly dismissed the case, vowing to re-file in Burnett’s home state of California. Check out how many Mudds that Peters earns for his version of events. Read more »



NOT A VICTORY Axanar producer Alec Peters’ claim he’s won his lawsuit against former director Robert Meyer Burnett, gaining AxaMonitor’s 3-Mudd Fact Check rating for significantly misleading people about the status of the case. Georgia law says different. Read more »


DEFAMATION KARMA? In a tactical move against Axanar’s Alec Peters, Hero Prop buys the unpaid legal judgment in Peters’ failed 2010 defamation case, potentially coming back to haunt him in a new move by his legal opponent in a Nevada lawsuit. Read more »



SAFE FROM LEGAL ACTION? Alec Peters reveals his costume and props collection isn’t actually owned by him, but by another legal entity, to legally shield him. That didn’t stop him from putting up the collection as collateral against a personal loan made him by former Axanar PR director Mike Bawden. Read more »


LEGAL BLUSTER Former Axanar advisor Mike Bawden wants Alec Peters to repay the rest of a $30,000 loan after Peters followed through with his lawsuit, threats and allegedly defamatory statements against former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett. This opens yet another front in Peters growing legal battles. Read more »



OCTOBER SHOOT PLANNED Alec Peters sets another target for Axanar’s premiere: Comic-Con 2020. That’s a year after failing to deliver a promised Comic-Con 2019 premiere. Meanwhile, the production remains mostly unprepared. Read more »


MOVING GOAL POST A missed May target shines light on a moving Patreon goal post. Axanar fans fail to step up to pay for producer Alec Peters to stay in the warehouse he calls Ares Studios. Read more »



ILL-FATED TREK MUSEUM Alec Peters to auction off Canadian Trek museum holdings. Despite Axanar’s help, Trekcetera closes, its holdings going up for sale … by Peters. Read more »


DEAFENING SILENCE from a federal district judge on CBS/Netflix’s motion to dismiss Anas Abdin’s copyright infringement lawsuit. Read more »



PETERS OUTRAGED Robert Burnett attorney’s ‘out of the box’ effort to settle outrages Alec Peters. CC’ing AxaMonitor and Fan Film Factor raises Peters’ stakes in his lawsuit against the former Axanar director. Download and read all the emails. Read more »


A LITIGATION HOLD has been served by Robert Meyer Burnett’s attorney in an email sent to AxaMonitor’s editor and Fan Film Factor blogger/Axanar surrogate Jonathan Lane. And a possible countersuit looms. Read more »


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STUDENT FILMS AT ARES In the midst of the longest dearth of new donations in the Ares warehouse effort, Axanar’s mouthpiece, the Fan Film Factor blog, shines a spotlight on the Georgia high school students producing short films on the Ares bridge set. Read more »



WAGING WAR Alex Peters prepares to go after his most ardent critics, hoping to shut down the AxaMonitor Facebook group. The Axanar producer says he’s willing to spend ‘tens of thousands of dollars’ to silence his perceived enemies — and he has a list of them ready. Read more »

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COMING OUT SWINGING We know Axanar’s PR director, Mike Bawden, resigned over producer Alec Peters suing his friend and former director, Robert Meyer Burnett, but documents obtained by AxaMonitor reveal how Peters’ behavior is forcing Bawden to draw battle lines. Read more »


BIG TALK, LITTLE ACTION Lawyer decries defamation as questions multiply in producer Alec Peters’ suit against his former director of Axanar. It’s not clear Peters is serious about doing more than intimidating director Robert Meyer Burnett. Read more »



BETA TEST PROBLEMS identified by testers are calling for a lot of user interface changes to fix what would’ve been an unwieldy login and registration process for the tardy Ares Digital 3.0. Alec Peters is depending on that system to raise the money he needs to finally produce the two Axanar short films. Read more »


GO OR NO GO? Peters hedges his bets on Ares warehouse. Axanar producer Alec Peters won’t commit to staying in current warehouse or moving to a new, much smaller facility. Read more »

cbs_respons_opposition.jpg FINAL RESPONSE CBS hits back at the Tardigrades lawyers’ opposition to dismiss their copyright case against Star Trek: Discovery. Next step: Waiting for the judge’s ruling. Read more »

discovery_dispute-1.jpg TARDIGRADES DISCOVERY DISPUTE Lawyers in the Tardigrades copyright case against Star Trek: Discovery have worked out differences over crucial evidence. Read more »


sweetheart_settlement.jpg BURNETT HITS BACK at Alec Peters. AxaMonitor has a copy of a letter from Robert Meyer Burnett’s attorney responding to Axanar producer Peters’ legal threats, settlement offer and alleged defamation of his client. A lawsuit from Burnett may be looming. Download and read the full letter. Read more »

youtube_backlash.jpg YOUTUBE BACKLASH Alec Peters’ YouTube retaliation backfires over Vic Mignogna scandal. Peters deletes Reel Trek video on YouTube after few come to his support in dispute with influential YouTuber MechaRandom42. You may never see this version of the episode after Peters tried to use his 76,000-subscriber platform to further his vitriolic crusade against rival Mignogna, the scandal-plagued Star Trek Continues star. Read more »


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PATREON CRUCIBLE March 1 offered the first real test of sustainability for Axanar producer Alec Peters’ effort to get fans to pay for the warehouse he calls Ares Studios in suburban Atlanta. Donors appear to be re-evaluating Peters’ studio value proposition. Read more »

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UNREAL REEL TREK Examining Reel Trek claims by Alec Peters, who makes some doubtful pronouncements on his latest YouTube livechat as his audience numbers continue their downward trend. He claims $3,000 in monthly earnings from Patreon and YouTube, and that he plans to release an ‘Art of Axanar’ book. Read more »

settlement_analysis.jpg ONE-SIDED DEAL We examine the legal merits of Alec Peters’ settlement offer in his lawsuit against Robert Meyer Burnett. Was Axanar’s former director right to refuse to settle Peters’ lawsuit against him? Read more »

burnett_settlement.jpg A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT in Peters v. Burnett tells the tale of things Axanar producer Alec Peters wants kept out of the public eye. Read more »

peters_burnett_bridge.jpg ACRIMONY LEADS TO LAWSUIT Alec Peters sues former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett in Georgia court, as legal questions emerge over whether Georgia has jurisdiction over Burnett, a California resident. Read more »

growth_rates-1-1.jpg CORRELATION AIN’T CAUSATION Axanar blogger Jonathan Lane cherry-picks Patreon data to discredit AxaMonitor’s coverage. Lane tries to make the case AxaMonitor’s reporting on the slowdowns of Alec Peters’ Patreon effort is spurring more donations. Read more »


enterprise_e_lawsuit.jpg PETERS’ TRIAL for defamation in the disputed sale of the Enterprise-E model (pictured with its last known owner) has been scheduled for January 2020. Meanwhile, he’s countersuing the owner of Hero Prop in Las Vegas, seeking nearly $200,000 in damages, costs and fees. Read more »


bait_and_switch-1.jpg BAIT AND SWITCH? A new Patreon update video appears to be pulling a bait-and-switch with regard to the warehouse donors may believe they’re paying for. The video features an impressive tour of the facility, with its features extolled by Axanar’s Alec Peters. Trouble is, he’s moving out of that studio May 1. Read more »

owc_studios_gwinnett-1.jpg CONTRADICTORY DETAILS emerge in the story of Other World Computing’s financial support for the former OWC Studios. They shine a spotlight on inconsistencies in Alec Peters’ story about the sponsorship, which forms part of his Patreon pitch to fans. Read more »


tardigrades_dismissal_motion.jpg MANUFACTURED SIMILARITIES CBS files a motion to dismiss the Tardigrades copyright case, claiming the game’s creator manipulated images and text to create similarities to Star Trek: Discovery he is trying to exploit to his advantage in court. Read more »


uhaul-shuttle.jpg LOSS OF WAREHOUSE spurs donations, as Axanar must move for the second time in two years, again to an ever-smaller facility. Daily Patreon signups climbed into double digits for the first time since January 23, following Axanar producer Alec Peters’ acknowledgement he’s abandoning his current warehouse. Read more »

SHRINKING STUDIO For the second time in two years, Alec Peters must move to a smaller warehouse, with fans picking up the tab. Peters concedes he can’t raise the money he needs to keep his current facility. The space available for Axanar has only shrunk since he lost Industry Studios in California. Read more »

About AxaMonitor
Welcome to AxaMonitor‭, ‬a journalism wiki providing daily coverage of the lawsuit brought by CBS Studios and‭ Paramount Pictures against‭ Axanar Productions and‭ Alec Peters. AxaMonitor aims to inform readers about what’s at stake in this suit, and its possible impact on fan productions and U.S. copyright law. AxaMonitor‘s editor is filmmaker, journalist and former fan producer Carlos Pedraza.
» On Twitter follow @AxaMonitor
Using this Website

Learn about the visual cues describing special kinds of content on this site.

Readers can use the Quick Start menu in the navigation bar to learn more about how to use this site, what are the best starting points for exploring and which topics are the most talked-about.

Primers

Overview

PRIMERS
On AxaMonitor, we organize information about Axanar Productions, its film, business and lawsuit in a series of topical primers. Click the tabs above to see how we’ve packaged our articles for you, or check our FAQ for the quickest overview we offer. || On Twitter follow @AxaMonitor

Lawsuit

LAWSUIT PRIMER
AxaMonitor's Illustrated Guide to the Axanar Lawsuit
Overview of the Lawsuit
Summary of CBS and Paramount's Legal Complaint
Defendants' Answer and Counterclaim || Plaintiffs' Answer to Counterclaim
Court Grants Studios' Request for Axanar Financials
Motions for Summary Judgment
Timeline of the Case

Legal Documents (Download)
You can download all the court filings in Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios v. Axanar Productions and Alec Peters. All documents are in PDF format.
Complete Repository of Case Filings
A repository of all the motions and pleadings filed in the case is on Google Drive.

Download documents from the repository »

The archive is maintained by the Language Creation Society, which filed an amicus brief with the defense contesting the plaintiffs’ claim of copyright of the Klingon language.

About Axanar

AXANAR PRIMER
Learn about the entire Axanar enterprise, a creative endeavor and a business Alec Peters built from a humble fan film into, in his words, “a fully professional, independent Star Trek production.”
A Short History of Axanar
Axanar: The Film
The Story of Axanar's Trailer

Axanar: The Business
Axanar's Annual Report: A Pattern of Obfuscation?
What's Up With the Perks?
Twisted Path to Discover Axanar's Studio Ownership
Merchandise
The Myths About Axanar's Business

Crowdfunding

CROWDFUNDING PRIMER
These articles focus on the crowdfunding efforts by Axanar to fund its short film, Prelude to Axanar, and its feature film, Axanar.
Crowdfunding Platforms
Prelude Kickstarter Details
Axanar Kickstarter Details
Axanar Indiegogo Details
Challenges Fulfilling Perks

Analysis: These articles examine Axanar’s evolving ambitions, and how they changed over the course of its effort to raise money to produce the feature film.
Moving the Goal Posts?
Change in Character
Ambition vs. Achievement

Analysis

ANALYSIS AND OPINIONS
This is a series of AxaMonitor articles examining Axanar’s history and the copyright infringement lawsuit it faces.
AxaMonitor Analysis:
Funding
Goals
Spending
Examining Axanar's Claims About Infringement, Damages

COMMENTARY
Opinion pieces about issues arising from the Axanar copyright lawsuit.
Endgame: Insight to How the Case May Turn Out
Fairness: The ‘Bias’ Behind Scrutiny
The Public Interest Behind Private Guidelines Talks
Axanar Paints Critics with Broad Brush
David Gerrold Repudiates Axanar Slur

More News & Commentary

alpha_waves_radio.jpg AXACON ADVENTURES In a November 11, 2018, interview on Alpha Waves Radio, AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza recounts his experiences trying to cover Axacon, Axanar’s fan convention, from which he was barred before invited to sit in on a trivia contest. Read more » (Filed 2/9/19)

beta_test.jpg BETA TESTING has begun, finally giving the troubled Ares Digital 3.0 a launch timeline. Axanar producer Alec Peters predicts launch by end of February. That timeline puts wheels in motion to begin to raise the $200,000 needed for the Axanar short films fans have been waiting years for. Read more » (Filed 2/11/19)

new_warehouse_interior.jpg POKEY PATREON In the face of his lagging Patreon, Axanar producer Alec Peters concedes giving up his current warehouse “is the right move,” and is preparing for a move to a much smaller facility nearby to house Axanar and Ares Studios. Read more » (Filed 2/9/19)

DOUBLE DUTY Axanar’s future depends entirely on the troubled software platform, Ares Digital. Its version 3.0b is in public beta testing, and producer Alec Peters says the software will have to manage delivering donor perks and raising money for Axanar. Read more » (Filed 2/8/19)


SOUND AND FURY Bile, bluster and vulgarity on display on Axanar: Confidential results in a short-lived boost to Alec Peters’ flagging Patreon campaign, as new donors and pledges crawl to a halt. Meanwhile, Peter is on track for losing his large “Ares Studios” warehouse in favor of a fan-funded smaller warehouse nearby. Read more » (Filed 2/8/19)


DENOUNCING DETRACTORS PAYS OFF Axanar producer Alec Peters and blogger Jonathan Lane discover bashing “irrelevant” critics sparks an uptick in their moribund effort to keep the warehouse they call Ares Studios. Plus, Axanar’s pricetag goes up even as the films’ delivery moves further away. Read more » (Filed 2/5/19)


ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Axanar Public Relations Director Mike Bawden resigned weeks ago amid litigation threatened by producer Alec Peters against the film’s former director, Robert Meyer Burnett. As is his habit, Peters chose to not disclose this latest departure of key personnel to donors. Read more » (Filed 2/2/19)


PATIENCE FOR PATCHES In his latest Axanar Production Update, producer Alec Peters reveals there’s still several hurdles to jump over before Axanar can go into production; he won’t be raising any money to make the short films until he first delivers Indiegogo contributors the patches they ordered four years ago. Read more » (Filed 1/31/19)


CBS RELAXES GUIDELINES After months of reworking following a brush with CBS over violating its fan film guidelines, British fan film Temporal Anomaly finally debuts, attracting notice for its 51-minute running time thanks to dispensation by Star Trek’s owner. Read more » (Filed 2/3/19)


GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS Jonathan Lane tries to buck up sullen Axanar supporters asked to donate to Alec Peters’ Patreon to keep Ares Studios afloat. Meanwhile, the campaign has slowed dramatically since it launched. Read more » (Filed 1/28/19)


DOESN’T ADD UP Contradictions continue to crop up in Axanar producer Alec Peters’ explanation for how Other World Computing came to end its sponsorship of the Georgia warehouse he’s dubbed Ares Studios. The inconsistencies come amid a slowdown in pledges to the Patreon that Peters is counting on to keep his warehouse afloat. Read more » (Filed 1/27/19)


PLANNING FOR THE WORST? Just when did OWC pull out of supporting Alec Peters’ Georgia studio? What’s threatening the Ares Studios Patreon effort to raise $4,000 a month for the rent? And guess whose warehouse is already listed as available for lease? Read more » (Filed 1/21/19)

PATREON PLEA Having lost his corporate sponsorship from Other World Computing, Axanar producer Alec Peters is making a $4,000 a month funding plea on Patreon to keep his Georgia warehouse afloat as he works to establish the facility as a working studio. Read more » (Filed 1/19/19)

tardigrades_discovery_art.jpg CONTRADICTION After a Star Trek writer was named as a potential link between the Tardigrades videogame on the Steam platform in 2015 and Discovery, AxaMonitor has found records showing the writer wasn’t a member of Steam at the time. Read more » (Filed 1/16/19)

FIRST HURDLE Before the case can move forward, the federal judge in the copyright infringement case by Tardigrades developer Anas Abdin challenged his lawyers to come up with evidence that the creators of Star Trek: Discovery had ever seen his plans for the unpublished game. Read more » (Filed 1/8/19)

UPDATE THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM? Tardigrade lawyers signal they’re preparing to file a third amended legal complaint in the copyright lawsuit against Star Trek: Discovery after CBS attorneys sought to meet with the judge to lay out their grounds for dismissing the case. Read more » (Filed 12/5/18)


BATTLE OF THE BLOGGERS Trekzone’s Matt Miller and Fan Film Factor’s Jonathan Lane square off in the first of three hour-long podcasts. We sum up and analyze their first debate on the impact and history of Axanar. Read more » (Filed 12/12/18)


SECOND DEBATE focuses on AxaMonitor as the cause for Star Trek fans’ rift. Plus, a defense of the Axanar lawsuit. Read more » (Filed 12/18/18)

FUNDAMENTAL FLAWS in the Tardigrades copyright case against Star Trek: Discovery warrant dismissal, argues a CBS/Netflix attorney. Read more » (Filed 12/5/18)

DESTROYING DISCOVERY: The latest on the Tardigrades copyright lawsuit against CBS and Netflix. The game developer suing over Star Trek: Discovery wants all the profits and every copy destroyed, and a federal judge approves a 30-day extension for the networks to respond to the suit. Read more » (Filed 10/31/18)


OPEN RECORDS CLOSED TO CRITICS Responding to continued calls for accountability, OWC Studios head Alec Peters says only Axanar supporters get to examine the ill-fated fan film’s financial records as part of Axacon — but only for two hours. Meanwhile, critics will continue to be shut out, despite offers to pay for an independent audit. Also, read the advice Peters has

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