Star Ballz Trumps Lucas 194
baby_head_rush writes: "The company that created pr0n cartoon Star Ballz won in court. George Lucas and company lost their first bid to stop its sale.
A judge with some common sense. There is 'little likelihood of confusion' between Star Wars and Star Ballz." Not for young eyes.
Lets See Those Lightsabers! (Score:2, Insightful)
Looks like Wank Solo will fly again!
Re:Preliminary restraining orders flow like water (Score:2)
They should also be held financially liable for any lost sales for the period the restraining order was in effect. If there were some actual financial penalty for filing bogus lawsuits, there would be A LOT less of them. The way it is now, there's almost no incentive NOT to sue over the most trivial dispute, especially if you already have a stable of lawyers on the payroll.
Isn't that Goku? (Score:5, Insightful)
And I must admit, it does look really stupid.
Pikachu too (Score:2, Insightful)
Sailor Moon as well (Score:4, Informative)
*closing eyes* (Score:5, Funny)
And the disturbance is... (Score:2, Funny)
The disturbance you're referring to is George Lucas.
Re:And the disturbance is... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:*closing eyes* (Score:2)
Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:1)
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:2, Redundant)
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:1)
See people, Lucas is really some creative Pr0n genius!
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:5, Funny)
"Star Wars IV: A New Hope"
1. "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."
2. "Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough!"
3. "Look at the size of that thing!"
4. "Sorry about the mess..."
5. "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."
6. "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
7. "You've got something jammed in here real good."
8. "Put that thing away before you get us all killed!"
9. "Luke, at that speed do you think you'll be able to pull out in time?"
10. "Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care *what* you smell!"
"Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back"
1. "And I thought they smelled bad...on the *outside*!"
2. "Possible he came in through the south entrance."
3. "I must've hit it pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?"
4. "Hurry up, golden-rod..."
5. "That's okay, I'd like to keep it on manual control for a while."
6. "But now we must eat. Cum, good food, cummm..."
7. "Control, control! You must learn control!"
8. "There's an awful lot of moisture in here."
9. "Size matters not. Judge me by my size, do you?"
10. "I thought that hairy beast would be the end of me!"
"Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi"
1. "Rise, my friend."
2. "Open the back door!"
3. "Hey, point that thing somewhere else!"
4. "It's just a dead animal..."
5. "Not bad for a little furball."
6. "How can they be jamming us if they don't know we're coming?"
7. "Come here, I won't hurt you. You want something to eat?"
8. "Keep on that one, I'll take these two."
9. "I want you to take her. I mean it, take her!"
10. "I don't think the Empire had wookies in mind when they designed her, Chewie."
Top ten sexually tilted lines from the trilogy
10. "What could possibly have come over Master Luke?"
9. "Hey, point that thing someplace else."
8. "You're a jittery little thing, aren't you?"
7. "I never knew I had it in me."
6. "Someone must've told them about my little maneuver at the battle of Taanab."
5. "There is good in him, I've felt it."
4. "Grab me, Chewie. I'm slipping -- hold on. Grab it, almost...you almost got it. Gently now, all right, easy, easy, hold me, Chewie. Chewie!" (Han) with "A little higher, just a little higher."
3. "Short help's better than no help at all."
2. "Hey, Luke, thanks for coming after me -- now I owe you one."
1. "Back door, huh? Good idea!"
Re:Things you never want to hear in a porn movie: (Score:2)
Golden-rod. [catalog.com]
C-X C-S
What I want to know is... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What I want to know is... (Score:2)
Well, it looks like Lucasfilm's attorney didn't view it before filing suit, so MMG is pushing that as a sign of Lucas' weak position. And I take it that the judge had to at least review the work in question.
Parody & IP (Score:5, Insightful)
But regardless of being pornographic or now, people are allowed to use intellectual property for parody purposes, which is clearly what Star Ballz is doing. Well done to the Judge for not taking sides with the big corporation, but instead choosing what is right for people's freedom.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:2, Insightful)
Uphold this, and parody will soon be dead as a right, since everyone who has parody directed against their "intellectual property" will be able to convince a judge that there is something "dangerous" about the content.
The only standard is whether it actually could cause confusion over their trademark. And it's refreshing that the judge stuck to that.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:3, Informative)
OK, something to see here, but not that much. The US Supreme Court decided this not long enough ago that the current Court could change it easily.
woof.
Yes, the movie [imdb.com] was pretty accurate.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:2, Interesting)
This is what Hustler did.... (Score:3, Insightful)
People v Larry Flint, he did exactly that he created a porno parody of a religious guy. Flint won at the Supreme Court.
Parody is enshrined within that judgement as being allowable, and indeed a cornerstone of US Law. Supporting Hustler and Flint in that case were NYT, Washington Post and others who you wouldn't normally see on the same shelf as Hustler.
Re:This is what Hustler did.... (Score:1)
Re:Parody & IP (Score:3, Interesting)
People are allowed to use IP for "fair use", of which parody is one example, the one the creators are claiming here. But parody is defined as "for comic effect or ridicule".
Some hentai can be viewed as funny, but you can say the same for some musicals. This looks like either hentai in a Star Wars style, or (as Lucasarts claimed) Star Wars in a hentai style. I don't think comedy is a primary goal in either case.
Ridicule implies commentary or criticism, as in "Spaceballs" or "Troopers". Perhaps there's some of that here, but from the shots it looks very much like a character-for-character, scene-for-scene remake, only with large animated sexual organs.
We'd need to watch it to be sure, but I don't see it as being that clear cut, not at all.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:1)
All the screen shots look like they are circumcised. Oh wait, you said clear cut....
Re:Parody & IP (Score:2)
Ooh, the Anonymous Coward has taken the moral high ground. I guess that blows my researched and reasoned arguments and refernces out of the water. Next time I'll be sure to wait until after the /. effect has died down before posting references to give other people context before they make up their minds. No, wait... wouldn't that be utterly pointless? Sigh.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, it's a tough call, but these are practically mandatory in hentait/anime. If you made an opera out of Star Wars, you'd have a large woman playing Leia, right?
Perhaps, perhaps. Trouble is, it would cost $19 to find out, and commercial profit is one of the criteria for finding against fair use.
On balance, the judge probably got it right, I'm just saying that it's not entirely a black and white proposition.
"Directed to children" (Score:4, Informative)
I know! It's because it's animated, and as everybody knows, animated vids are only for kids, regardless of content! Ha ha, right, all those Mangle Video [manga.com] animes with people getting naked (and peoples' brains getting shot out) that they release instead of getting around to Giant Robo are all to keep the little kiddies entertained!
Bleah. That mindset makes me sick.
Re:"Directed to children" (Score:2)
What gets me is the "directed to children" bit. Um, what? Where does it say that the parody is directed to children? On the Star Ballz website, where there's a clear "this website contains material unsuitable for those under 18" disclaimer? By watching the thing? (Oh, wait, no, they didn't, did they?)
To be fair, I think that the statement was referring to Lucasfilm's IP, not to the cartoon. It was a poorly written sentence, not to mention the fact that IP isn't "directed" towards any demographic. That's just doublespeak.
- Rev.Re:"Directed to children" (Score:4, Informative)
The article says (emphases mine) "a pornographic use of someone else's intellectual property, especially when that use is directed to children." The word "use" is used only once in the sentence prior to "that use," thus, "that use" modifies "a pornographic use".
If she'd said "when that property is directed to children," she could have been referring to Lucas's IP, which is to say, Star Wars. But it is grammatically quite clear that she is referring to the pornographic use--the Star Ballz anime--as having been directed to children. That is to say, made with children as a target audience.
Which is clearly quite stupid, but apparently there are still people out there who believe that anything animated is meant for kids. And unfortunately, some of them are even judges.
We perpetuate it too, you know. (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, when I say WE, I really mean all of you.
Re:Parody & IP (Score:3, Insightful)
That said, a few lines from Spaceballs that would easily translate into Starballz are:
"I see that your schwartz is a big a mine!"
"SUCK SUCK SUCK"
"She's gone from SUCK to BLOW!"
"That... is my virgin alarm. It's designed to go off before you do!"
:-)
Lucas might want to make a deal with these guys... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Lucas might want to make a deal with these guys (Score:1)
Hmm.. Do you think N'Sync's gonna star?
If so, then we should run out to the woods and hide..
George should take some ideas from Star Ballz... (Score:3, Funny)
Reach Behind, Extract Panties (Score:2, Insightful)
Zero-G Warning (Score:1, Offtopic)
I bet... (Score:3, Insightful)
How many hits from Slashdot will result in sales of the video just because MMG's pissing in a big studio's corn flakes?
Re:I bet... (Score:2, Funny)
At least one sale :)
'bad' isn't strong enough (Score:1, Funny)
one-sentence movie review (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder... (Score:1)
The Children (Score:3, Insightful)
"We feel strongly that the law does not allow for parody to be a defense to a pornographic use of someone else's intellectual property, especially when that use is directed to children."
Of course. Always invoke the children. That justifies any measure.
The Gardener
Re:The Children (Score:1)
No.... this [slashdot.org] is moderation!
Mr. Brooks (Score:2, Funny)
"I bet she give GREAT helmet."
You CAN here that in a pr0n flick, after all...
This looks great! (Score:3, Troll)
Simply hilarious! (Score:2)
Check out this [starballz.com] BSA guy.. =D
Not the first time (Score:2, Insightful)
It's not like its the first parody with "Balls" in the name ;-)
This little Gem [imdb.com] from the 80's is just great!
Star wars fan? (Score:1)
Erik
SEE! THe world isn't going to hell! (Score:2)
How much you want to bet that this judge never rises over her current position?
Porn protected, political speech not. (Score:4, Insightful)
Far more serious free speech issues are going the wrong way. How about accademic freedom? The University of South Florida is canning a computer science teacher for saying bad things about Israel (see this [salon.com] Salon story). How about DeCSS? How about encryption rights? How about Digital Rights Denial? In all matters of real importance, the US federal government has proved itself wrong headed recently. So while the publishing giants feel free to swear on the public airways they own, place naked people on billboards, and do whatever else they think they can to make a buck, you and me are being stripped of the right to utter dissaproval in any meaningful way. Your comminications will be monitored (carnivore and local ISP caches), your house will be searched unreasonably(USA and Patriot acts), your property will be confiscated (standard proceedure), and you will be quiet.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Porn protected, political speech not. (Score:2, Interesting)
When was this? Give me a date.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Porn protected, political speech not. (Score:3, Insightful)
Any victory, however small, is good.
No argument there. But again, this decision is a small step in the right direction.
Some of these monitoring actions I may have done on me anyways(comes with my former job as a Military Intelligence analyst) but they aren't nearly as widespread as people think... While the government has decreased the amount of evidence it demands before a search, that hasn't been entirely removed.
And anyways... the real problem isn't the government. Its the people that roll over like sheep and take it. Don't preach about government abuses here, don't preach it to the government, preach it to the masses. Granted we need a larger margin than most people think to elect a president, but there are the people to do it. Get the average person involved. That is our only hope. If most people in this country think that these invasions of privacy and rights are a good idea, then by the preamble to the constitution the government has a duty to implement them, as its what the people want.
Remember, the masses still hold the power to change the government. The only way to stop things before they get worse is to open their minds and get the masses to use the power they have, before they are convinced to give it up.
Not so much parody as poaching, perhaps. (Score:3, Insightful)
Starballz claims this is a parody. Really? Parody, says Websters is "a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule." Case law shows that criticising or commenting on the original is also fair use (although not necessarily parody).
Having your own original characters do a Matrix freeze-orbit scene is parody for comic effect (please, enough, stop doing this now). Borrowing the characters, but spoofing twenty two [imdb.com] other works and making very cutting critital points about "moichandising, moichandising" leaves you mostly clear, as Mel Brooks showed, and in agreement with the very informative overview of fair use and parody laws at publaw.com [publaw.com]
But this... well, I dunno. It's commercial, it's not commenting or criticising that I can see (not is it primarily comic per se, it's part of a well defined genre of its own, like musical), it uses substantial portions of the original (characters, scenes and plot). That only leaves the effect on the original which is, to be fair, minimal. But in three out of the four criteria that a court should use to decide fair use, it appears to fall down.
Perhaps it does comment on or criticise the original. Of course, we'd have to watch it first to find out. And perhaps Lucasarts should have done so too:
It's hard to sympathise with a lawyer getting bitchslapped at the best of times, but this, if true, is probably karmic enough to cancel out any actual moral transgretion.
You can't say that, really... (Score:2)
Re:You can't say that, really... (Score:2)
Re:You can't say that, really... (Score:1)
I don't have to surf every web site out there or read every book. I read what I choose to, as does everyone else.
However, if I am planning to criticize a specific book or web site for something in particular, I do try to look at it first to insure that it is indeed what I think it is before going off half-cocked and looking like a fool.
Re:You can't say that, really... (Score:2)
Re:You can't say that, really... (Score:2)
Strangely enough, I made it perfectly clear in my post that I hadn't. I also talked in terms of probabilities based on the available evidence. Perhaps you could brush up on your reading comprehension, and consider adding some value to the debate rather than just noise.
Re:Not so much parody as poaching, perhaps. (Score:2)
In "Two Live Crew vs. Estate of Roy Orbison", the Supreme Court ruled that the parody didn't have to be funny to be protected. TWC's moronic cover of "Pretty Woman" wasn't funny, but that didn't have anything to do with the intent. Thankfully, we don't have courts trying to judge if something is funny or not - look at the wonderful job they've done with erotica.
Re:Not so much parody as poaching, perhaps. (Score:2)
"a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule."
By the mere fact that this animated porn is *animated* and taking ideas from the Star Wars movies, for use in a completely different context - I'd say that it qualifies autoamtically!
As it was already pointed out, "comic effect" doesn't necessarily mean you personally find it humorous. It only means that it's potentially humorous to some people.
In almost every case I can think of where a work is imitated by another work, with the storyline changed enough that it makes the viewer look at what's taking place in a different light - it's done at least partially for comic effect. (Might not be hilariously, laugh-out-loud funny, but at least it makes people snicker to themselves, because they're smart enough to understand where the original came from and what's being done to it.)
Re:Not so much parody as poaching, perhaps. (Score:2)
It's a very close call. The important word is "for comic effect". The intention matters. AFAIK, people don't primarily make or watch hentai as or because it's funny, they make and watch it as and because it's porn.
Great. (Score:5, Insightful)
anyone got the s/vcd or divx version? (Score:1)
How is it Directed at Children? (Score:1, Insightful)
What I don't understand is how it is 'directed to children'. Starwars itself isn't directed specifically to children, pornography (usually) isn't. Is it LucasFilms contention then that all cartoons are directed to children? If that is the case then he needs to take a trip to Japan. I just can not see how this is directed to children and that seems a very unfair statement to make, probably done more for shock factor (porn directed at children! oh, no!) then because it holds any truth to it.
George Lucas' original response to Star Ballz (Score:2, Funny)
Has anyone actually watched this crap? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Has anyone actually watched this crap? (Score:3, Insightful)
They only open their mouths like in one scene in the whole two demos, and that was enough to get me to groan out loud......
If Lucas had just let well enough be, natural selection would have taken its natural course on this piece, and no more than 10 people (the 10 friends of the dudes who made this thing) would ever have watched it, or even heard of it.
Re:Has anyone actually watched this crap? (Score:2)
In the same vein, you could say that slashdot should never have put that on the front page, giving these guys their notoriety.
Re:Has anyone actually watched this crap? (Score:2)
Some of us can live without that mental image.
Re:Has anyone actually watched this crap? (Score:1)
Does that mean that it's an open door... (Score:3, Insightful)
I hope that people with animation talent won't be shy experiencing new ways to bring us joy and visual pleasure.
In a country drown by puritanism and religion, I am impressed about the open mindness verdict the judge has demonstrated. New lifestyles are reaching our country. This is re-assuring.
Kuddos to these guys for protecting US citizen rights by having taken the chance to fight Lucaz.
To these guys and the judge: You've got ballz! I know about a lot of people who would have comply with what ever big corp. would have order them to do (cough! Lindows cough!)
PPA, the (bi) girl next door.
Re: (Score:2)
This is all PRELIMINARY (Score:2)
So it doesn't open the door to anything yet. And it may not, in fact.
This may be the stupidest movie I have ever seen. (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:This may be the stupidest movie I have ever see (Score:2, Funny)
What does this mean for Fan Fiction? (Score:2, Interesting)
Then again, the company in question being sued probably had enough money to hire some skilled lawyers. Individual fan fiction writers may just find themselves killed by legal fees, not by legal decisions, which is rather unfortunate.
Re: (Score:1)
Some lines from the movie (Score:2, Redundant)
Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?
Size matters not. Judge me by my size, do you?
Hey, point that thing someplace else! Put that thing away before you get us all killed!
Look at the size of that thing!
I look forward to completing your training. In time you will call me master.
Hurry up, golden-rod...
Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough!
Luke, at that speed do you think you'll be able to pull out in time?
Back door, huh? Good idea!
Wedge! Pull out! You're not doing any good back there!
Grab me, Chewie. I'm slipping -- hold on. Grab it, almost... you almost got it. Gently now, all right, easy, easy, hold me Chewie."
I thought that hairy beast would be the end of me!
I must've hit it pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh kid?
Is the link including some ID to get the poster $? (Score:1)
http://www.starballz.com/?yhnws --
This thing sucks! (Score:1)
By trying to kill them... (Score:2, Insightful)
"The power of the
"What a piece of junk!" (Score:2)
Animation wise.
Sound wise. Well, that's a whole 'nuther story. The dialog is pathetic, the music equally worse and the sound effects are pretty much non-existant. If the filmmakers just turned their efforts in making a real anime short instead of this lame-ass ripoff then it would be something to be admired. Get a half decent sound engineer and some music to play that's appropriate and a decent script and they'll be laughing.
liB
Bad hentai, no donut (Score:3, Insightful)
On a related note, the usual "fortune" at the bottom of this page says "Can't open /usr/games/lib/fortunes.dat." Is that a bug, or a parody of a bug?
Re:Bad hentai, no donut (Score:2)
Isn't the adjective "bad" redundant?
Good for them (Score:2)
I am all for trademarks and all,. but not when common sense is out of the picture. Next thing you'd know is they would have sued school when they do history lessons about the "star wars" project of US vs Russia... I'm glad a judge finally put them in their places. Lucas should focus on how to kill Jarjar in the most suffering and inhuman ways for episode II instead of suing anything that has Star in it.
Re:Maybe Lucas will spice up episode 2 (Score:1)
Captain Stubing.
(from The Love Boat for all you kids).
-J
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:2, Interesting)
This is a court case about parody use of IP, forget that its porn/starwars. Slashdot has a history of news relating to parody work and IP.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:4, Funny)
Probably. Next question?
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:2, Funny)
Not everybody's grasp of English is extensive enough to understand what pr0n or "not for young eyes" might mean.
That's why it's in the dictionary...
pr0n [dictionary.com]Yeah Right (Score:1)
Addressing your concern for the children; I grow so tired of people trying to define
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:1, Redundant)
That said, this is what I'll call pornography with no redeeming values. Unlike Mel Brook's excellent parody and satire, what insight does this piece of hentai cast upon the Star Wars universe or ethos that Mel Brooks and David Brin have not?
But of course, there is no accounting for tastes. Opinions like mine have gone of fashion and are unfairly branded as elitist. It's justice, I suppose, to see that the only way the defenders of this puerile piece of junk can justify themselves is to attack the moralists.
And one final piece advise for those who would say this is "judging a book by the cover": Life is short, and 90% of anything is crap. It's pretty obvious which side of the 90% this piece of crap from. Did the judge rule correctly? Yes - speech should not be denied. That means that I am free to give you a piece of my mind on a forum like slasdot. ("If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you can ever imagine.")
There's a simple solution to this... (Score:2)
Then again, considering the level of dialog in most of the discussions, I suppose limiting the vulgarity at the story level would be moot, something akin to locking the case of a Windows XP box.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:2)
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:1)
I won't hold my breath...
I might have to get one of these for the Anime section of my store. It will fit right in next to Twin Dolls.
you're thinking TM's (Score:2)
This is because corporations must protect their intellectual property otherwise it will be deemed to be in the public domain
Note that this applies only to the trademarks on "Star Wars," the movie titles, and the character names and likenesses. Copyrights on the expression of the movie and patents on the methods used to make the movie need not be defended as rigorously to maintain their validity; not pursuing infringers effectively amounts to granting an implicit license that can be pulled at any time [burnallgifs.org].