No matter how much this sucks, it's nowhere near being illegal. The only way it would be is if Hood was paid money to do this, but I guarantee he wasn't because he's tried stuff like this before, so it's obvious he needed no convincing. The MPAA doing the legal work isn't a payment. It's not all that uncommon for parties working with law enforcement to do this, and it's also been done in cases where an attorney general has successfully prosecuted large corporations for false advertising, failing to honor consumer warranties, etc., where an outside group provided knowledge about the particular industry that the attorney general needed but didn't have. I know you guys want to express your anger and disgust, but I'm trying to help you. Here's some inside knowledge you might want to consider. You may be trying to help your cause, but you're actually hurting it because you make it the easiest thing in the world for the IP side to be the only voice listened to. They have actual facts with actual evidence, even if they distort them. If you want to be taken seriously you can't just make up "facts" based on your opinions or on what you think must have happened, like saying someone was bribed. Also, just because zillions of other people on the internet are saying the same thing that doesn't make it true. I read lots and lots of posts and blogs (because I want to know all sides), and about 99% of what's written is not just totally wrong, but it's completely obvious that it's wrong to anybody who knows the true facts because they've seen the evidence. No matter how many resisters express themselves online they're not even a blip on the screens of the Powers because there is zero being said that stands up against what the IP industries are saying based on believable evidence. You can say it's all lies, money and corrupt government officials, or flame me for saying this stuff, but like I said, I'm trying to help.
A bit of reality from an entertainment lawyer. A lot, if not most, of the rights Adam needs were never owned by CBS/Viacom so they can't give the rights to him for free or otherwise. Ordinarily, many content items in a production are only licensed to the studio, and the licenses almost always contain a prohibition on the studio re-licensing the content for use in another production. It's worth noting that Adam doesn't need their permission to do the documentary, so none of the licensing budget is for that. Also, some, probably many, of the licenses are for content that CBS/Viacom never had anything to do with in the first place, and most likely a good amount of it was created or obtained for purposes of selling to the public or private collecting. It's doubtful that many, if any, are getting rich, or even making much money at all, from Leonard Nimoy content. Publicity? With very rare exceptions, even the best documentaries (which this could very well be) get very little attention, even on cable (not talking about "reality shows"). Most important, though, can anyone seriously say that the Star Trek franchise needs more publicity?
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As bad as you say, but nowhere close to illegal
CBS/Viacom aren't the only rights holders; not all others rich
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