The Fair Use Doctrine

[sistermagpie]

 Carol responds:

> Step 1 for JKR should be to stop worrying about how much work (hers 
or
> his) has gone into compiling the Lexicon, how it's affected her
> emotional state, and all other irrelevancies. Step 2 is to 
familiarize
> herself with copyright law, especially the Fair Use doctrine, and
> understand how copyright violation differs from plagiarism. And 
step 3
> should be to have someone do a computerized comparison of the 
Lexicon
> (print version) to her books and see what percentage of the text 
falls
> under "verbatim copying" and "close paraphrase."

Magpie:
I believe she (or those representing her) has done the last two. Her 
side's got expert witnesses in copyright and have also gone through 
the book for this. There's a pie chart made by her side--probably 
spinning it as close their position as possible--but they have gone 
through the work. She's not making the argument--though her lawyer 
obviously wanted to put some drama on the stand with all the 
irrelevent stuff about hard work, sloppy work, writer's block etc. 
Not sure what that was in aid of, since there's no jury to make feel 
sorry for anyone. From what I've heard her legal team has been very 
well-prepared--much more so than RDR's who has put people on the 
stand saying they don't remember things and also pulled out e-mails 
where SVA contradicted his own position.

-m