Fans were behind the creation of the 2005 si-fi feature hit Serenity. (Universal) Director Joss Whedon on the making of Serenity

Universal's licencing arm has been contacting fans of the 2005 movie Serenity, who sell film-inspired merchandise, with requests to cease and desist all vendor activities.

Blue sun corp, Cafe press, 11th hour, and other internet based websites specializing in the production and sale of fan designed Serenity merchandise such as t-shirts and inspired artwork, have been told to stop sales of this material or shut down completely.

Many of these demands have been issued with little or no warning, with one internet vendor being told to close sales within 72 hours, forward all unlicensed stock to the studios, and pay nearly 9000 US dollars in retrospective license penalties.

Word of this legal action has spread quickly over the Web and has caused uproar amongst the hoards of dedicated fans, thousands of whom have tallied up how much, individually, each of them have worked, hour by hour, year by year, to promote the movie.

Making a stand: The crew of Serenity." "Hear what Serenity fans have to say." UK Browncoat - Claire Hannan

In an unexpected show of unity, fan members posted an online bill to the hollywood studio retroactively claiming for unpaid time spent for PR and marketing services.

They argue that Universal Studios actively encouraged the fan base from the defunct but hugely popular television series Firefly (Fox 2002), on which the movie is based, to engage in guerilla and internet viral marketing campaigns to promote the 2005 release of "Serenity".

Although not a legally binding document, The Big Damn Invoice has proved a popular rallying point for disgruntled fans, who have, in less than a month, collectively submitted to Universal Studios a total of over 25,000 billable hours of promotional work and invoices totaling an estimated 2 million US dollars.

The Big Damn Invoice

That the studio actively encouraged fans to promote its movie seems clear. The appearance of press releases, video teasers, designs and logos and most notably a series of short mysterious films based in the firefly universe known as the River Tam Sessions on the internet target internet fan bases.

Universal, by providing free promotional materials in an effort to spark internet hype, had hopes that fans who had been campaigning long and hard for a firefly feature film could be encouraged to generate buzz around the movie Serenity's release.

The Studios were not to be disappointed.

Utilizing the internet to access social networks and vast web based movie fan communities in this way, to promote new Hollywood feature films is known as viral marketing, and such campaigns are becoming more and more common. Recent movie examples include the Ring, its sequel, the Ring 2, and most notably the recent Snakes on a Plane.

The fact that people are making this stuff? You can call it "bootlegging" or you can call it "free advertising."(Gossi 2005) Joss Whedon: Director SERENITY

Universal has commented that it has every right to protect its intellectual property. They have a duty, as they see it, to protect the interests of companies that have paid hefty fees to make official products.

But is the movie studio "turning a blind eye" to, or worse, actively encouraging the proliferation of unofficial clothing, logos, designs, mugs and artwork whilst these items are serving the useful purpose of promoting a film release?