OFF PRESS RELEASE
Online Freedom Federation
May 20, 1997
For immediate release
Recent actions by Paramount Pictures and its parent company Viacom have prompted a conglomeration of Star Trek fans to band together in a group known as the Online Freedom Federation, dedicated to reaching "an acceptable compromise that would allow for free use of Star Trek materials on the web," said Chairman Luca Sambucci.
The sites affected by Paramount's copyright protection scheme were protected from such action by the 'fair use' doctrine, sections 107 through 120 of the copyright act (title 17, U.S. Code) which allows the reproduction of a particular work for criticism, comment, research, news reporting, etc. -- "something Paramount's lawyers should have been aware of," Sambucci said.
"The Online Freedom Federation is an international non-profit organization devoted to reaching a compromise with Paramount and Viacom so that Star Trek webmasters do not have to live in fear of having their sites shut down," Sambucci said, "we feel that the Star Trek webmasters should have access to certain copyrighted materials and in return, wherever the copyrighted material is shown, they will explicitly acknowledge that the material is copyright of Paramount and Viacom."
Viacom and Paramount have to take certain actions to show that they still claim the right to these materials. If they were to allow Star Trek webmasters use their copyrights however they wanted without acknowledgment of the companies' ownership, they would risk losing it to the public domain -- meaning they would no longer have the right to charge money for or regulate use of Star Trek materials on the web.
"The Online Freedom Federation has drafted an 'Open Response' to Paramount and Viacom available at our headquarters on the web at . Visitors to the site can read the letter and should electronically 'sign' it, lending their support to our efforts," Sambucci said. "The more support we have, the more attention we'll receive." After OFF has collected thousands of 'signatures,' it intends to mail the letter to Paramount as part of an official invitation to negotiate.
"If Paramount and Viacom agree to negotiate a compromise, OFF will keep the public on our progress," Sambucci said, "through regular updates to the site."
All the information at OFF's headquarters will be available in five languages -- English, Spanish, Italian, French and German so that people not fluent in English can still stay on top of current developments. "Star Trek is not strictly an American interest. It has fans around the world, and OFF is designed to meet the needs of all Trek fans," Sambucci said.
Whether Paramount or Viacom will accept the organization's invitation remains to be seen.
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