Jury trial to decide whether the 'Star Trek' fan film boldly went too far

LOS ANGELES -- A trial by jury could decide whether a fan-made Star Trek film -- meant to be a proof-of-concept for a higher quality, feature-length version -- boldly went too far into the depths of copyright infringement.

Paramount Pictures and CBS, which own all rights to the franchise's film and TV productions, months ago filed a copyright lawsuit against Axanar Works, which sought to raise $1 million on Kickstarter for Prelude to Axanar, a prequel to the original television show. Axanar used professional cast and crew to make its 20-minute version for YouTube, where it's been viewed 2.7 million times.

A federal judge in California on Wednesday declined to grant summary judgment against Axanar, effectively kicking the case's key questions to a jury, according to court documents obtained Wednesday by Mashable.

Axanar's Alec Peters centered his creation on a minor character from an original-series episode named Garth of Izar, with the story focused on the "Four Years War" between the Klingons and the Federation that took place before the original series.

The case against Axanar gained interest because dozens, if not hundreds, of fan-made Stat Trek creations have been allowed to exist over the years -- and this is where Paramount and CBS chose to draw the line.

For now, the Axanar video still exists on YouTube:

The federal judge ruled that the character of Garth falls under copyright, as well as the characteristics, language, costumes and other details that are clearly within the Star Trek world. Now a jury must determine whether a reasonable person would find the works to be similar enough to constitute infringement.

Working against Axanar: "Fair use" is not on the table, as the judge ruled definitively that the fan-made films do not constitute commentary or parody.

With Axanar working against all odds, it seems like a peaceful resolution would be most logical.