The JKR/RDR/SVA case

[pegkerr]

If you said, "Huh?" after reading the title of this post, you are clearly not in the Harry Potter fandom and have no idea of the DRAMA going on in a New York courtroom this week, so feel free to skip.

I wrote about this case before. There are excellent commentaries over at praetorianguard's journal and chaeche's posts at fandom_lawyers.

I still can't believe that Steve did it. I considered myself friends with him back when we worked together on the HPEF Board of Directors. I just can't imagine what he was thinking. It's extremely painful to watch him destroy his relationship with someone he absolutely idolized because he was either a) inexplicably greedy and/or b) inexplicably stupid. I don't know which it is, but watching from afar, either alternative feels awful.

I hope and expect JKR to win this case. I don't know if and how Steve can pick up the pieces of his life again when it's over. (And that's not even the considering the possibility that praetorianguard raised that his erstwhile publisher RDR might turn around and sue him because of the irregularities in the indemnity clause in the contract.) He'd quit his job, and cut himself off by his own actions from the HP community he loved and reveled in.

Hubris indeed.

Comments

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

It sure looks to me like this is far from cut-and-dried. There's plenty of precedent for encyclopedias, lexicons, etc. The "dangerous precedent" one commenter speaks of was set long ago. If anything, I see the possibility of a dangerous precedent being set where an author with a lot of money and legal power can shut down a project she doesn't like whether it's fair use or not. (Whether the guy acted like a dick ought to be irrelevant legally.)

[knitmeapony.livejournal.com]

The reason I got licensed but never practiced:
(Whether the guy acted like a dick ought to be irrelevant legally.)

I have SUCH a hard time with that. In a case like this where I'm uninvolved I can. If I got close to one of the parties, it's problematic, hehe.

[arian1.livejournal.com]

This is why I got involved in IP enforcement, because I hate to see people get ripped off. Peg summed it up nicely above with this:

ut then Steve decided to compile the Lexicon and sell it in book form. JKR objected to this because 1) she intends to write and sell an encyclopedia herself to raise money for charitable causes, and the design of the Lexicon book was designed in such a way that it would create confusion for the buyer, making them think it was authorized by Rowling and 2) the Lexicon is essentially merely a re-packaging of Rowling's work (the plaintiff put up a pie chart, attributing 91% of the Lexicon's content to Rowling's own words.

Fair use again, does not apply. This guy got lazy, tried to slide one under the radar and is justly getting nailed.

[knitmeapony.livejournal.com]

The design issue, I have NO problem with. It was confusing. That's totally cool by me.

The repackaging issue I think is the trickier issue.

You've replied to four of my comments separately; I think I got all the points in my two replies, but tell me if I missed something.

[arian1.livejournal.com]

I think we've both made our fair share of points. I was responding our of email as the posts came in so they tend to disjoint across the thread a bit. Not trying to hammer you persay.

[knitmeapony.livejournal.com]

No problemo; I do the same thing. (I call it the instant messaging style of writing. Message-response with no connection between'em.)