Once again, a headache

[cleolinda]

Lexicongate ETAs march on: a bunch of blogs weigh in without actually reading the ruling; I can't even believe what Stanford Law said; NORA ROBERTS HAS SPOKEN.

I will say this: if you actually read the ruling, or summaries of it, you'll see that Judge Robert Patterson (no, Patterson. He does not sparkle in direct sunlight. That I know of) is very careful to note that this is not a ruling against the general concept of fan comment and critique, for profit or not.¹ The issue is not that the Lexicon is a derivative fan work; the issue is that it isn't. It is, in large part, copy/pasting of the original books' phrasing with little to no criticism or commentary--it's Rowling's work alphabetized. It is, in fact, an enterprise that makes the rest of creative fandom look bad. That's the issue. That's why she isn't suing the other guide books and commentaries² (or me, for that matter, and I also published): because those works actually contributed original thought.³

1. Sample quote, p. 18: "The Companion to Narnia, however, is far more erudite and informative than the Lexicon." More quotes.

2. JKR's statement: "Many books have been published which offer original insights into the world of Harry Potter. The Lexicon just is not one of them."

3. "A mop Filch threw out and a whole lotta hope" is not a thought or phrase that occurs in JKR's own writing, if you see what I'm saying.

The other thing is that RDR tried to defend the book by saying that since Rowling gave permission to a free, non-profit website to use large swaths of her charity books' text, she had also given them implicit permission to republish the material in print for profit--basically, that in granting one right, she had relinquished a ton of others as well. If RDR had won, fans across the interwebs would not be rejoicing that they had expanded their rights. No, it would be trigger-happy corporations (Fox comes to mind, among others) Viacom going, "Oh, the hell we're giving up rights we didn't even know we were giving up!" And all those shiny happy Buffy and Firefly and Supernatural and Battlestar Galactica fansites? GONE. C&D'd by the end of the week. So because RDR (RDR's lawyer, Stanford's Fair Use Project, whoever) introduced that concept, RDR losing actually prevents fandom from getting screwed on this particular occasion.

And also, if you're going to play the JKR IS SO GREEDY OMG card, keep in mind that she said she'd donate anything they won to charity, and that His Honor did, in fact, award her and WB the princely sum of $6,750. No, I did not leave any zeroes off.

Anyway. Linkspam. (I was promised a Suantum of Quolace Quantum of Solace trailer! Where is my Something of Boris Quantum of Solace trailer?) ETA: IT'S HERE!

Fringe comes on tonight, and I think I'm actually going to try to watch it. Maybe get into it before JJ Abrams abandons it for good(ish), who knows? (I still need to watch True Blood OnDemand, since I forewent it [yes, I checked the dictionary] for the deadly dull trainwreck that was the VMAs.) So, anticipatory Fringespam: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching 'Fringe' Tonight; 'Fringe' Preview Screeners Measured Audience's Emotional Responses; J.J. Abrams lures casual sci-fi fans to 'Fringe'; 'Lost' creator visits Ausiello TV; 'Fringe' Will Jump The Shark Early And Often, Says J.J. Abrams; Fringe's ARG Upsets Nature, Messes With Your Mind.

Meanwhile, Terminator's Manson Surprises. SHIRLEY MANSON IS >>A TERMINATOR<<? ZOMG WHY AM I NOT WATCHING THIS.

Oasis attacked! "Sullivan (also identified as drunk) burst onto the stage while the band performed 'Morning Glory' and shoved Gallagher into a monitor, fracturing his ribcage and tearing some ligaments." Includes video of the incident, no less.

Apple unveils new iPods.

Shock shortlist for this year's Booker; 'Intensely readable' books nominated for prize.

Burger King eaters engage in rampant 'polygameat.' The "Meat Beast Whopper"? Really?

'The Fly' opera features nudity, so-so score. Well... then.

Toronto: Toronto Film Festival: Zombies, con men, slumdogs, and Broadway babies; Julianne Moore talks 'Blindness'; TIFF Interview: Rachel Weisz, 'The Brothers Bloom'; Toronto: Dave Karger's Oscar buzz.

Toronto reviews: Toronto Review: Darren Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler'; TIFF Review: 'Nothing But the Truth'; TIFF Review: 'The Burning Plain.'

For Hollywood, it's never too early for talk of Oscars; Oscar could be a fan of these upcoming films.

Images: 'Leaves of Grass' Poster Has Someone Questioning His Agent; New Poster and Pics from 'Pride and Glory' (it's a very Edward Norton day here on the linkspam).

Trailers and clips: Exclusive Clip: 'Rachel Getting Married.'

Harry Potter: Ralph Fiennes: "Indications that it'll happen" for Return in "Deathly Hallows"; EW photoshoot outtakes with Harry and Draco.

'Dark Knight' may be tough sell at Oscar time; There Should NOT be a 'Dark Knight' Sequel; Frank Miller Fancies Stallone as Broken Down Batman.

Hey! It's Twilight Tuesday! Twilight Fans Furious After Russell Brand Cuts Off Robert Pattinson At VMAs: 'That's basically a FRICKIN SIN in the fandom,' one Twilighter fumes. (Russell Brand totally cares about fandom, you guys.) (UNEXPECTED RUSSELL BRAND IS UNEXPECTED.) Meanwhile, Peter Facinelli Reveals On-Set Pranks, Says He's On Team Edward; Peter Facinelli Talks Vampire Baseball (I will never get over Van being blond, you guys. It ain't right); preview of the Twilight In Style shoot; Stephenie Meyer to be on Ellen? This is going to end well, I'm sure.

No William Shatner Cameo in 'Star Trek'? J.J. Abrams Says Why; Quinto: Spock, Sylar Are Similar.

Production Begins on the Coens' 'A Serious Man.'

Play The Guess-Brad-Pitt's-Reverse-Aging Game ['The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button'].

First Look At The Set Of James Cameron's Avatar [Morning Spoilers].

Andrews Joins 'Tooth Fairy'; Finally, Julie Andrews Will Co-Star with The Rock.

Lawsuit claims ‘Disturbia’ ripped off Hitchcock. Wait... I thought the whole point of the movie was that it was a takeoff on Rear Window. They didn't buy the rights to do that?

New Line Snags Rights to Richard Doetsch's 'The Thirteenth Hour.'

Mark Millar on the 'Kick-Ass' Filming.

Interactive 'Eagle Eye' Adventure Launched.

Harold Perrineau Boards 'Killing Jar.'

Fivesome Gets Ready to 'Howl' ("David Strathairn, Alan Alda, Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker and Paul Rudd are attached to join James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in the beatnik biopic 'Howl' ").

Sonnenfeld Still Eyeing Timberlake As Search Commences For Actor To Get ‘Moist.’

Amanda Seyfried Joins 'Dear John.'

Sam Jackson's Lost 'Titanic' Audition Tape Surfaces.

'Italian Job' Sequel Held Up By Paramount Turnover.

'Cabin Fever 2' Even Gorier.

Don't Buy 'Guitar Hero', So That Brett Ratner Can Make a Movie About It. Wait... so, conversely, if we do buy the game, we can stop him in his tracks?

Frat Humor Will Kill Superhero Movies In Years To Come.

Dispatches From Direct To DVD Purgatory: 'Meet Bill,' 'The Air I Breathe' and 'Mama's Boy.'

TMNT to Follow the 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' Formula of Success.

Comments

[theendofallthat.livejournal.com]

I hate it when people call JK greedy. I remember a lot of pissy-ness over the Beedle the Bard thing when it came out at auction, saying she was being greedy and unfair despite, you know, the money going to charity and the certainty that the book would be released eventually.

gah.

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that gets to me as well. The woman has done a lot of generous things ever since she became filthy rich. I'm always looking forward to her writing a book that generates money for charity. People should be praising her for that, because not everyone who is rich makes it a point to help the poor.

Just goes to show you how some people would prefer to think the worst of others.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Ah, Stanford Law! heeheehee.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Canada hates Oasis. Srsly. I'm surprised they came back after getting coins whipped at them in Vancouver.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

And now I am going to be linking to you in *my* next HP post, heh. All very good thoughts. (Did you see my RANT OF RAGE after the last Actual Law Related Post?) The next person who assumes poor, benighted SVA is going to have to shell out 6K for this is going to get SMACKED. With a copy of the opinion that has the party names highlighted in bright yellow.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee, I did. (One of the earliest ETAs on the FW entry was basically, "HEY GUYS SVA IS NOT ACTUALLY THE DEFENDANT.")

[gorgeousnerd]

I've been playing more Rock Band lately, but if buying Guitar Hero games means there won't be a Brett Ratner movie...I'd buy one every single day.

[all-ephemera.livejournal.com]

Dear Lord, why can't they give Draco a normal hairstyle? Why do they insist on making the rest of the cast look tousled and attractive and,y'know, like a teenager, but they put Draco into a hard plastic cap of Ken hair??

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

Because apparently spoiled brats deserve Helmet Hair?

I don't agree, I'm just saying.

[to-no-avail.livejournal.com]

I'm currently on the fence about a third Nolan Batman.
I see pros and cons on both sides.

Also, I might have missed it if you included it, but Cinematical had something along the lines of TDK replacing "The Polar Express" as the annual Christmas rerelease at IMAX theaters. If this passes I shall be so happy, as I still haven't been able to see TDK on the Bigger Screen. lol

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I posted some link with something about "an annual event?" in the headline. I am all for that.

[summersdaughter.livejournal.com]

I am in total agreement with you on the RDR/SVA vs. JKR thing - I think it was the only logical resolution, and really the best one for everyone invovled. Also I forgot all about the SVA/Harry comparisons the first time around and OH GOD THEY'RE STILL DOING IT WHY D:

Quinto: Spock, Sylar are similar
...uh huh.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Also I forgot all about the SVA/Harry comparisons the first time around and OH GOD THEY'RE STILL DOING IT WHY D:

Yeah... the NYT has issues. I don't know.

[scarletsherlock.livejournal.com]

OMG BOND FLAIL

Is there enough win in the universe to accommodate Nora Roberts? Damn.

[all-ephemera.livejournal.com]

I want to read the Win of NR, but when I clicked the link all I got was "Deleted post". Woe!

[nohara-megami.livejournal.com]

Dear lord, the song Manson did at the beginning of the episode of Sarah Connor is reason alone to watch it. *has not been listening to it on repeat all morning, nope not at all*

[everstar3.livejournal.com]

THERE'S A SONG? OMG. I NEED IT.

[edda.livejournal.com]

Frank Miller Fancies Stallone as Broken Down Batman

DO. NOT. WANT.

[glass-radical.livejournal.com]

Auuuuggggggghhhh no!

[waltzingalong.livejournal.com]

Okay, now officially referring to that movie as Something Of Boris forevah.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Now I'll be thinking of Edward Norton when I remember Homer Simpson kicking a tombstone and yelling, "Leaves of grass, my ass!"

[tabbyclaw.livejournal.com]

Oh, so glad I'm not the only one whose brain went there.

[ironclad1609.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, that Bond trailer rocks.
I am carefully gonna predict this movie being even better than Casino ^^

[thelittlebudgie.livejournal.com]

I was there for that Oasis thing; I think there would have been a small riot if they hadn't come back out. Still have no idea why anybody would go after Noel.

[norwegianne.livejournal.com]

"Many books have been published which offer original insights into the world of Harry Potter. The Lexicon just is not one of them."

So true. For my class on Children's Culture a couple of years ago, my term paper was "People who have researched Harry Potter, and what have they really researched?" An amazing wealth of books dealing with in-depth research on Harry Potter, and without getting sued by Rowling - imagine that… Granted, it was pointed out in the preface to one of the books (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ivory-Tower-Harry-Potter-Perspectives/dp/0826215491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220997248&sr=8-1) that they'd avoided going with the title "Harry Potter and the Ivory tower…" to avoid getting sued, as well as avoiding that the readers would mistake it for a book in the series.

[miss-sophia.livejournal.com]

So I clicked on the link to your Fifteen Minutes book, and according to Amazon UK, people who bought items like your book also bought Breaking Dawn. Here's a screen capture:



So, the big question is, is it the lolfans who are enjoying both your book and BD, or are cleolinda fans who are secret Twihards (or vice versa)?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

... Huh.

[goonie-freak.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA watch the rest of the cast when Brand interupts Robert... hehehehe they are all like "dude! wtf?!"

[divadeanna.livejournal.com]

And also, if you're going to play the JKR IS SO GREEDY OMG card, keep in mind that she said she'd donate anything they won to charity, and that His Honor did, in fact, award her and WB the princely sum of $6,750. No, I did not leave any zeroes off.

*dies* Oh, come on. Of course she's doing it for the money! Now she can finally get that '97 Cavalier she's been eying.

[batmaz.livejournal.com]

I actually found out what Quantum of Solace meant the other day. It took more weight off my mind than I had expected, I guess it had been bothering me more than I'd realised that the new Bond title made no sense.

[batmaz.livejournal.com]

And also, updates on a podcast? I keep hoping you'll mention it again...

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

ZOMG WHY AM I NOT WATCHING THIS.
I DON'T KNOW! DON'T YOU LIKE SHOWS THAT ARE AWESOME AND FREQUENTLY HAVE SHIT EXPLODING?

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Harold Perrineau Boards 'Killing Jar.'

I read that as "Killing Jar-Jar" and marveled at the potential Lost/Star Wars crossover that would ensue. *facepalm*

[mercymydarling.livejournal.com]

How To Punch Oasis In the Face: A Practical Guide (http://www.cracked.com/blog/2008/09/09/how-to-punch-oasis-in-the-face/)

[lyricalnights.livejournal.com]

Luckily the people on my library listserv have been pretty quiet about the JKR win. There are some serious HP haters on there (which is their right, natch) and they were talking serious smack the first time around. I was like "People, you are librarians! Fair Use: ur doin' it wrong!"

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

Trust me... just because they're librarians doesn't mean they understand that. *worked in a library for a long time, has a brother that's one*

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

Random aside: I'm reading a book that made me think of you! I know you're really into Victorian history.

Have you read Inventing the Victorians: What We Think We Know About Them And Why We're Wrong by Matthew Sweet? ISBN-10 is 0-312-28326-1, if you're curious.