I just want this over. I know Jo’s right and I support her fully but that doesn’t mean I have to bash Steve. I hate how we’re all going crazy over this, Steve and Leixcon were a big part of the community and the site a least deserves our respect.
Thank you for understanding, guys. I cannot say you are wrong, PP, about the distress vibe, as today was an extraordinarily hard day in court if you had a personal history in this case.
We wll collect Steve’s and the others’ statements from other sources and post them on the page later. It will have to depend on Kristin’s schedule, though, so it might not be at the same time as last night. This has prevented me from giving same-treatment to Steve’s words, as my notes are not going to be used now.
However, if we see a falsehood in the press, we will correct it.
The whole situation just sickens me. Reading that whole article from the first day of trial I actually started to cry a bit. I just don’t understand why it had to come to this. I can’t imagine how difficult this situation must be for both sides although I do fully support Jo.
Melissa, Thank you so much for your hard work. This is the right thing to do. I’m not sure if you can comment on this, but according to the WSJ, the judge stopped the proceedings and told both sides that they should consider settling. If you were there, could you comment on the mood of the court at that point? Do you think a settlement is possible? If you don’t feel comfortable commenting on that, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a pest. I’m just trying to understand the judge’s words in context.
Oh please, Steve! You’re a grown man, so take care of yourself. He doesn’t sound nearly as cocky as he did just a few weeks ago.
And Jo’s right about him not comprehending some of the Potter plot. I hated listening to him on PotterCast, he’s the main reason I stopped listening.
I know you guys are gonna write about this—Dan Slater on WSJ LawBlog has a second post up (6:12pm).
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/04/15/judge-in-potter-trial-calls-on-parties-to-settle/?mod=WSJBlog#comment-186479
“Judge in Potter Trial Calls on Parties to Settle”
My gut-reaction (and that is ALL it is) is that judge was touched by testimony of both Jo and SVA but he’s leaning toward a legal win for RDR.
But a “win” for RDR is not necessarily a win. RDR Publishing will go bankrupt from the expense of appeals before the Book is ever published and SVA’s reputation is tattered beyond repair.
I hope they will stop and settle. Something that leaves all parties (esp Jo and SVA and even that ass RDR) with a bit of dignity.
But, what in the world can the settlement be but “Don’t publish the Lexicon Book”. There has to be something that RDR receives in exchange. I would hope there would also be some kind of public rapprochement between Jo and SVA.
Come on you guys. He has been doing the Lexicon all along. Everyone looked at this from time to time. If Jo did not want him doing the Lexicon she should have said something years ago. Why was it OK to provide this timeline etc. when it was for free? It is not like he is going to be writing anything other than what he has already put into his web site. There are books already out there written by other authors. Why is his the only one being sued??
Bottom line—the lexicon’s free, a book wouldnt be.
But, Kevin—The Lexicon site was an ever-evolving fan-generated site. It is very good for what it is. It wasn’t an Authority, which is what the printed book would be.
What I mean is that, as a fan site, its faults could be overlooked. They were charming!
As a printed book (have you read what RDR wanted to rush into print in time for Christmas?) it’s kind of a big mess.
What a shame SVA didn’t have a good book agent to advise him (and I don’t mean going to Jo’s agent) because before this mess he had a very good reputation & a respected place in fandom. A good agent would’ve advised him NOT to pursue the Lexicon, but use it as a calling card for getting book deals on other HP related topics.
PS – Interesting comment on WSJ LawBlog (I edited it):
” ...it is the very very rare trial in Federal District Court that the Judge does not put pressure on the parties to settle — every day. ... Most Judges apply a lot more pressure than appears to have been done here — Judge Patterson appears pretty gentle in his suggestion. Judges will often take the parties into chambers and emphasize to each party the abject weakness of their case. So don’t read too much into the Judge’s suggestion.
”... Some Judges will rule more often in favor of the side the Judge will ultimately rule against in order to provide the strongest possible ruling against being overturned on appeal. If one side got everything they wanted and still lost, there are presumably less grounds on which an appeal may be based. This, of course, only may work in bench, that is non-jury, trials.” Comment by KT – April 15, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Melissa,
Your thorough journalism will be missed, but your level of professionalism can never be questioned.
As to Steve, I just shake my head. Didir said it best on page 1 of the comments: I also expect to see the Dark Mark over some shack somewhere. Now he tosses RDR under the bus, too? Sounds to me like someone got a taste of the ‘get rich kool-aid’ and has given up everything dear to him for it. What a shame.
I’m beginning to think this is a lot more complicated than just Jo’s right, Steve’s wrong. Of course, Jo has a point – this book could be copyright infringement.
But her choices are strange. She didn’t just give the lexicon an A for effort – she said it was her natural home and claimed to have used it herself. Now she calls it sloppy. Hmm.
The divide between internet and the published book is not that great. Far more people have seen the lexicon online than will ever see it in published form. Its an old school form of thought that says that one thing is copyright infringement and the other isn’t (possibly the only difference is that the internet is hard to legislate for?)
Sorry guys – I feel for Jo on this one, but I can’t help but think that its got more to do with the fact that she wants to release her own encyclopedia than anything else. Why hasn’t she gone after any other publishers before this? Why the lexicon? Is it any more or less sloppy than other books that have ridden off the back of her hard work?
And does anyone really think that a book version of the lexicon will sell that well when those of us who are interested have seen it online for free already? Simply saying ‘I don’t endorse this’ probably would have been enough to kill it dead. This I fear, will make it even more attractive to casual fans.
Classic (I almost wrote, “textbook”) example of throwing someone under the bus here. I feel for Vander Ark, but this sounds bad.
It sounds like Steve knows he is going to lose his case. From what I heard from the AP, he was at least smart enough to word his contract with RDR so that they take all the liability.
No, Leaky is not associated with Lexicon anymore, there was a post about it at the beginning all of this came about.
Melissa has been awesome during all of this. I hope she gives her notes to John so he can do the update. She said on Lounge that he was in the courtroom with her. Perhaps John can take the notes, if he’s up to it, now that Melissa can’t. Or is Kristin in NY?