FOX cracking down on Futurama fansites

[livingfruitvirus]

That's a lot of F in one sentence.

Yesterday, PlanetExpress.dk, one of the better Futurama fansites on the net, was shut down by FOX. I guess when FOX prepares for cancellation, they want to make sure no evidence is left. :p

Anders' farewell message:

That's it.

Five minutes ago I recieved an e-mail from Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP, representing FOX. They kindly asked me to kill the site off immidiately. Well, not kill the site as such, but remove all covers, comics, images and what have you, which would leave us with a more or less empty site anyway. I might re-launch the site as a fan-art site sometime later on, as this is not yet prohibited by FOX, but let's see.

The kind lawyer ends his letter with the following words (quoted): "Your interest in "Futurama" is most appreciated. Fox will continue to do its best to bring you quality entertainment.".

Yeah, I wish...

That's the end of a beautiful homepage. And I was just starting to like the damned place.

On behalf of Ricco, Henrik, Aster, Eugene and myself - thanks for all your help, support and patience. We couldn't have done it without you.

February 21st, 2003
- Anders Gissel

Who will be next? :eek:

[Sheamon]

They did it to a lot of Simpsons sites, so I'm not surprised one bit. I was a big X-Files fan all 9 years it was on the air but never launched a site knowing full well this would probably be its fate...

Never underestimate the ability of FOX to say F U to the fans. Its bad enough that they gave the show the worst possible time slot, but they also clearly have no problem with killing the internet fandom.

[Zach Logan]

:eek: :eek:

[Amano Ginji]

:mad: :mad:

[Majin_Megabyte]

In my opion I think Fox now is more evil then Disney. :eek:

[SlyBoy]

Argh! Stupid Fox doesn't realize that more fandom equals more ratings (it's too late for Futurama, though)! :mad:

[Mugen]

Go beat FOX up, Livingfruitvirus.

[livingfruitvirus]

my lawyer army is too small compared to theirs.

and you can take THAT to tha grand tour

[Masamune2052]

Well it's bad news and not very fair, but what can you do? If LFV can't beat them up, who can?

[Mugen]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
my lawyer army is too small compared to theirs.

and you can take THAT to tha grand tour

Just play Faulconer music against them, and you have won. Nobody messes with PICCOLO ANGRY and WRASSLING RAWK WITH LEAD!

Well it's bad news and not very fair, but what can you do? If LFV can't beat them up, who can?

*Looks at Matt Wilson*

[Parallax]

Originally posted by Masamune2052
Well it's bad news and not very fair, but what can you do? If LFV can't beat them up, who can?

Easy! *puts on Great Saiyaman costume* I can! Now you die Fox,now you die! Buwahahahahahhahahahah! :D

[Link1130]

I wonder why companies are doing this now? hasbro did the same thing with Transformers stuff....

[Nin-Nin69]

As long as a website doesn't feature any downloadable music, movies, adult material, or wav files, then they should be allowed to do whatever the Hell they want. I don't see how screenshots of TV shows or the characters, so called "classified" information, press releases, news, fan fiction, joke pictures, or any sort of relation to the show would piss people off if even though its non profitable. Its not like the fans on the net are saying, "I created Futurama! I own all of the material on this hosted website! Empty out your wallets before viewing! Bow before your master!" :D And what will they do with the $60 million they took from you? Not for improving the programing on their channel I bet. ;) People should just lighten up a little. :rolleyes:

[Kaiser0120]

This is so disgusting to hear. *Takes out his Blade Plushie, his Steel plushie, his Fire Plushie and his Anatomically Correct Plushie'O'Doom and hands out copies.* War Time, boys! War Time!

[Amano Ginji]

Originally posted by Nin-Nin69
As long as a website doesn't feature any downloadable music, movies, adult material, or wav files, then they should be allowed to do whatever the Hell they want. I don't see how screenshots of TV shows or the characters, so called "classified" information, press releases, news, fan fiction, joke pictures, or any sort of relation to the show would piss people off if even though its non profitable. Its not like the fans on the net are saying, "I created Futurama! I own all of the material on this hosted website! Empty out your wallets before viewing! Bow before your master!" :D And what will they do with the $60 million they took from you? Not for improving the programing on their channel I bet. ;) People should just lighten up a little. :rolleyes:

Agreed.

[Amano Ginji]

Originally posted by Kaiser0120
This is so disgusting to hear. *Takes out his Blade Plushie, his Steel plushie, his Fire Plushie and his Anatomically Correct Plushie'O'Doom and hands out copies.* War Time, boys! War Time!

You seem to like plushies....alot.

*waits for his Grunty plushie to arrive with .hack//SIGN vol. 1*

[Kaiser0120]

Originally posted by TidusDaniel54
You seem to like plushies....alot.

*waits for his Grunty plushie to arrive with .hack//SIGN vol. 1*

I'm rather... girly, so I still like stuffed animals.

One can never have too many. ^.^

And I have decided on a much, much worse fate for Fox... *Sics on his army of Flying, Viagra Overdosed Polar Bears on them. You hear the Wicked Witch of the West music play.*

Mwuhahaha... Mwuhahaha... MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It has begun. >.>

[The Landstander]

just like the simpsons. wow. that is:

[list=a]
Mean to the fans
Stupid for business reasons
Just plain wrong
[/list=a]

i just can't imagine fox gaining anything because a small webpage featuring one or two copyrighted images gets shut down.

[Mugen]

Originally posted by Kaiser0120
I'm rather... girly, so I still like stuffed animals.

One can never have too many. ^.^

And I have decided on a much, much worse fate for Fox... *Sics on his army of Flying, Viagra Overdosed Polar Bears on them. You hear the Wicked Witch of the West music play.*

Mwuhahaha... Mwuhahaha... MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It has begun. >.>

Are you a man or woman?

[Evil Dr. Reef]

What a hot, steaming load of feces. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Kaiser0120]

Originally posted by SSJ Gohan 64
Are you a man or woman?

I'm a man, man.

[Mugen]

Originally posted by Kaiser0120
I'm a man, man.

Whose OOZING WITH MANLINESS.

[Kaiser0120]

Originally posted by SSJ Gohan 64
Whose OOZING WITH MANLINESS.

I'm oozin' alright, but not with manliness. o.o

Then again, I'm a fruit, but not a fairy.

[Majin_Megabyte]

I think about time to start an La Resistance to Fox since they are treating there shows like crap expect for The Simpson.

I'm about ready to attack Fox with all my weapons.

*me brings out swords,kendo sticks,and Seighs swords (like Raph's weapons on TMNT) polish them nicely.* J/K :p

[The Landstander]

Originally posted by Majin_Megabyte
I think about time to start an La Resistance to Fox since they are treating there shows like crap expect for The Simpson.

I'm about ready to attack Fox with all my weapons.

*me brings out swords,kendo sticks,and Seighs swords (like Raph's weapons on TMNT) polish them nicely.* J/K :p

there was this organized petition movement called "FIST" against the closing down of simpsons sites. i dont know if it still exists, but might be worth looking into.

[Amano Ginji]

*gets out shurikens kept in closet*

*clears more dust*

What's this?

*finds a Kusari-gama in the closet(Kohaku's weapon on IY)*.....hehehe.

[Jeff Harris]

It's funny.

Fox doesn't really have that much presence online, and yet, they use the power of the net to push those that love the shows to get offline . . . in most cases because Fox feels that it outclasses and outshines their pathetic official sites many times over.

Then again, Fox aren't exactly nice guys to begin with. Notice the way they treated certain shows that "aren't performing to par." They LOVE crap shows that'll draw those Hollywood critic types as well as suburbanites while all the good shows get booted around like it's a football (soccer to you Yanks), one of their favorite sports (News Corp owns the Manchester United and Fox Sports World, which shows nothing BUT soccer and rugby).

It's no surprise that fansites dedicated to Futurama, which has gotten more publicity from Cartoon Network in less than two months than in all the years its been on Fox combined (see the gender-bendering ad in the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for an example), is now the bane of Fox execs, willing to sue the pants off of, um, FANS of the shows they've spent so much time creating a page. In the tradition of The Simpsons, X-Files, Buffy (which they own), now Futurama fansites are being eradicated.

I pray Cartoon Network doesn't take these terroristic tactics to fansites of their programming (kisses my site). Guess they realize that any publicity is good publicity.

I mean, geez, what does Fox want? More sites dedicated to their wonderboy Bill O'Reilly?

[hyprlynx]

I remember they did that to Simpson fans sites a few years ago so this is nothing new. So does Fox own Futurama? Do they produce it or did they just distribute it? So even by airing one pic from the show on a site they have a legal case? (I'm not up on my internet law on those aspects so someone fill me in please.)


If all companies acted like Fox there wouldn't be many fan sites period. (Good thing some shows like fan sites.)

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Jeff Harris
I pray Cartoon Network doesn't take these terroristic tactics to fansites of their programming (kisses my site). Guess they realize that any publicity is good publicity.

i only recall them shutting down one site. that site was Fucinet, and it was for offering downloads of 5 Adult Swim series.

[ohmrbill]

I didn’t think it was possible, but FOX has once again sunk even lower.

[Joe Tully]

Well, it's not like a SciFi show would gather any kind of support on the internet. :rolleyes:

Way to shoot yourselves in the foot, Fox.

[bassist]

Originally posted by Kaiser0120
Then again, I'm a fruit, but not a fairy. Nice to meet you. I'm a pineapple.

[G1Ravage]

What right did Fox have to force that site to shut down?

[Shnay]

This takes me right back to the time when they shut down nohomers.net...that was a great site.

Anyway, as a few have said, this makes no sense. These people were not profitting off of this in anyway, and the ONLY impact they could have had would have been increasing fan support, which would mean more money for them. I don't get it. I guess a "zero-tolerance" policy takes the place of logical thought once again.

I guess you would just hate to see one of your shows mistreated, eh, Fox?

[Vekou]

Why would they do that?! That's horrible...

[Mr.Glass]

In my opion I think Fox now is more evil then Disney.


Whoa, whoa, whoa...

The same Disney that released THE JUNGLE BOOK 2? That's pushing it. But they're getting there.

[dogboyfan]

Does Fox have the legal right to shut down fan sites? What about free speech and fair use?

[CryptiniteDemon]

I really liked that website too. I hate fox.

[Supreme]

Even though it does seem kinda mean, Fox really does have to protect its copyrights. Usually, if you ask the source, they will give you limited usage of their property.

I think one of the best ways to host a fan site is to have one that is ad-free. If you host on Geocities or other advertisement-themed hosts, it crosses the line into revenue geration. If you have a site that is free of ads or any money-making schemes, the owners of the copyrighted material are more apt to let you use it (as long as you ask).

[NovaSaber]

So you're saying that if I started a Futurama site on Geocities, Fox would shut me down because Geocities was making money? I don't see why ads would make a difference.

And the point is, unless there was copyrighted media on the site (and I know Fox has shut down sites that didn't have any), this goes beyond "protecting their copyright" into "attacking their own fans".

[Supreme]

How do you have a fansite without copyrighted media? What would be the content? Fox can't shut down a site that doesn't contain anything they own.

Ads (theoretically) generate revenue. By having ads on a site, you are using the copyrighted material to generate revenue, which isn't Fair Use. It doesn't matter whether the revenue is for you, Geocities, or the producer of the ad.

I'm not saying that it's not a bad move, alienating your fans, but you have to look at the copyright holder's point of view before labelling them the "Evil Empire."

[NovaSaber]

How do you have a fansite without copyrighted media? What would be the content?
Fan fiction.
Fan art.
Information about episodes, characters, etc.
Episode reviews.
Stuff like drinking games, "you might be" lists, etc.
Also, screenshots are okay under Fair Use.

[eek!]

:mad: What a load of crap :rolleyes: Time to start sending vicious emails to Fox. I'm serious, first they kill Family Guy, then they kill Futurama, and now they are out for their "children." Absolute idiocy if you ask me. Ugh! I say Fox is part of the giant conspiracy to keep people stupid and watching Worlds Wildest Police Beatings and other such nonsense. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :mad:

[RedTail]

I'm serious, first they kill Family Guy, then they kill Futurama, and now they are out for their "children."

You forgot The Critic and The Tick.

- RedTail

[Wounded_Dragon]

FOX is just paranoid when it comes down to material they own. They shut down a site that published *transcripts* of Buffy: TVS. And *just* transcripts.


Of course, that one time Yahoo tried to claim that any content published on Geocities was theirs might give FOX reason to be paranoid.

[zmanjz]

Section 107 of the Copyright Act (Ammended 1998) requires that anyone claiming fair use exception fullfill:


(1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Under these circumstances, this is what allows people (like movie critics) to put screenshots of the movies on their websites and review them.

As a fansite is a form of review.

I think that unless you're posting a complete copy of an episode, or recordings, any good lawyer can win a fansite case.

The problem is that networks and media conglomerates can fight dirty and fight a war of attrition. wearing down your resources overtime.

Although delay and stall tactics may backfire and cause the company to pay for your legal fees, you've got to have the will to fight a legal war where many of your victories would by Phyrric until the end.

If you can take Loss after loss after loss while keeping your eye on the prize at the end (approx 4-5 years away) then I say go for it.

If I didn't want to be a prosecutor so much, I think I'd be a fair-use activist.

[Kyo]

Fox is turning money hungry maybe

[RogueMartian]

Wish I had the time or inclination to do a fansite, I'd love to push the legality of this issue. I'm surprised some lawyer hasn't tried to sue for first amendment violations. Doing fansites or using copyrighted images is protected under the first amendment.

But Zmanjz is right, If I were you I'd look up section 107 of the Copyright Act. Where there is a clause called "fair use". Basically fair use says that you are protected from copyright infringement if the stuff you are using does not hurt the present or potential markets for the work you're using.

Since a fansite promotes futurama and simply using images does not hurt anybody's potential sales or market for the television show, then you are totally within your rights to make any fansite you want. You can tell fox to go screw themselves because you are exercising your right to discuss a very pervasive and popular television show. You're being educational and keeping open the free marketplace of ideas.

So if anyone has a chance to talk to the people who run , PlanetExpress.dk, tell them to keep the site up, the law is on their side.

The more I see corporations stepping on the rights of the people, the more I am leaning towards going to law school to live my life suing the corporations for every little infringement of civil liberties that they commit.

[JetMaster5]

That's easy to say for people who aren't in the situation themselves. But what about those that are? They don't want to potentially get sued.

[Morgan Sloat]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
i only recall them shutting down one site. that site was Fucinet, and it was for offering downloads of 5 Adult Swim series.


Ah Fucinet was the shiznit, I loved that site, though it certainly was illegal it helped me get all the Space Ghosts I have loved throughout the years that I couldn't find elsewhere. Amongst other things.... =X

Well, any fan of Adult Swim, is a friend of mine. I still watch it every night it's on, wether i have them archived or not. (can I say that?)

[PowerZord]

why fox is doing that to futurama fansites?

[Steph]

*Tips cowgirl hat*
Well, its all nuttin' but 'bol-snit' to me. I can understand closing the site if it had downloads of the videos . . . I guess it was their right but what's next? -Insert dramatic music here-

*Stares up at moon* What's next? Where will this all lead? Is it just destiny us to go on living this sham of a life?
*Bows head as tear flows down cheek* Why? WHY?!

*Laughs* Melodramatic moments rock out! Anyway, has FOX said they were going to just cut off the sites with 'illegal' material or are they planning to kill the entire fan empire?

Steph ^_1'

[SonGokou316]

And to think, my alma mater high shcool gives News Corporation (the company that owns Fox) internships to it's elite students. I actually was up to work for either News America Marketing or TV Guide, but never got them. I'm starting to see the truth and if they are cracking down on Futurama fan sites, you might as well crack down on Anime fan sites (DBZ, Sailor Moon, etc...), all of which have picture galleries and multimedia. I leave you now with a famous quote: "Human knowledge belongs to the world."

[bassist]

As long as they don't crack down on Super Greg (http://www.talonse.com/supergreg.swf) ...

[Final C yourgod]

Well that's wrong and stupid and retarded and evil.

I say we all screw Fox over.