I prefer to err on the side of fair use, but I can respect the judge’s decision. But what really bothers me about this case is how it divided the fandom and brought out vicious personal attacks on Steve and the people who support him. Some pro-JKR fans had been posting nasty allegations about his personal life, which had absolutely nothing to do with the legal case, and fans who supported Steve were accused of being “not true fans” and told they should get out of the fandom. And to be fair, some of the pro-Steve fans responded with just as much vitriol and immaturity. It really made me sad that some of my fellow fans could not respectfully agree to disagree.

I do hope now that the decision has been made, we can put the nastiness behind us…although I guess it may not be over if RDR appeals.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200809081712DOWJONESDJONLINE000616_FORTUNE5.htm

In this case it was pretty clear cut that RDR & SVA were coming dangerously close to plagiarism. So, the verdict is as it should be.

That being said, I don’t think JKR & WB are as pure as the driven snow either. For one, I don’t know how much ‘irreparable’ harm could be done to someone who’s worth hundreds of millions of pounds or to a company with billions of dollars in assets. Certainly theft is wrong in & of itself no matter how much money is involved & that’s the focus that should’ve been taken, not “oh look how much money we millionaires are losing over this.”

And I think Jo took the high road for the most part, focusing on how it was theft of her work. Although her attempt at being Stephanie Meyer was a little annoying. “I’m so upset about this I don’t think I can work on anything ever again.” Other than that one instance I think she took a pretty high road & kept it focused on property rights.

WB, though, is a little more suspect, in my opinion. Again, we’ll have to wait & see what the repercussions are. Give the WB lawyers an inch & they’ll try to take a mile, in my view of how things have worked lately. Not anything against lawyers per se; it’s just their job. But theoretically it’s up to juries & judges & legislators to restrain them.

Hopefully this whole sorry mess will inspire SVA to go out & actually create an original work of art. I think even the Lexicon in print idea would’ve worked out if he had worked harder on adding more critical commentary. It shouldn’t be too hard to do something original. The cast of Mugglenet did it in their book, Melissa Anelli’s done it, John Granger’s done it numerous times, Travis Prinzi’s done it, & even the humble progenitors of HP Progs have done it in their podcasts through their critical analysis of the HP series.

And maybe RDR will have learned to be a bit more cooperative with a company that can sue you from here to eternity.

Of course, this may not be over yet. Any word on whether RDR/SVA will appeal?