I would guess more than 90% of the essays et al on the Lexicon were done by other contributors, and all the artists and writers I've heard from say they never heard anything about any book. I don't know if it's ever been cleared up, but either 1) He presented other people's work as his own (considering the essays and art also show up on their creators' web spaces, it's obvious they never considered any transfer of ownership to have taken place), or 2) He stripped out everything but his own work and now the lexicon rightly doesn't meet the definition of "transformative."
Most fans who have a basic understanding of copyright law (including ones like me who are not looking forward to JKR putting out her own reference work) have been against the publishers on this one.
Given that an incredibly high percentage of what was in the proposed print version Lexicon was direct quotations from the original canon, I'm assuming he went for 2) - around the time of the original trial there were segments of the proposed book knocking around and they were definitely not literary criticism (unless criticism = alphabetising).
If he weren't such an asshat I would suggest that once SVA realised option 1) was going to get his arse kicked by a large number of people, he lived in hope that JKR was not in such an arse-kicking mood. Clearly he was incorrect.
SVA is indeed an asshat - but I have to put the bulk of the blame at the feet of the publishers (who are rightly the ones who were named in the suit). The average person is perhaps allowed a little stupidity as to what is and isn't publishable, but that a group of professionals saw something with the Harry Potter name attached and didn't look into every legal precaution imaginable borders on the willfully moronic.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2008-09-08 08:16 pm (UTC)Most fans who have a basic understanding of copyright law (including ones like me who are not looking forward to JKR putting out her own reference work) have been against the publishers on this one.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-08 09:25 pm (UTC)If he weren't such an asshat I would suggest that once SVA realised option 1) was going to get his arse kicked by a large number of people, he lived in hope that JKR was not in such an arse-kicking mood. Clearly he was incorrect.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-08 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-09 06:43 am (UTC)