Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
In the commercial world, The Wind Done Gone was ruled non-infringing (or "not likely to be infringing," at which point the lawsuit was dropped)...
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Actually, as I understand it (and I could be wrong here), the court refused to issue an injunction, ruling that there was insufficient grounds to block the publication of
The Wind Done Gone before it was actually sold. This isn't all that surprising, because US courts seem to be very leery of doing anything which could be considered prior restraint. The author and the Mitchell estate then came to a secret out-of-court settlement. What that was, of course, nobody knows -- which is something else I abhor. I would guess that payments to the Mitchell estate were involved, because (given that they commissioned
Scarlett and
Rhett Butler's People, contrary to Margaret Mitchell's wishes in life) I don't think this was anything but a cash grab in the first place.
The bottom line always comes down to money, and the fact that a court isn't a body convened to determine who has the better case, but rather who has the better lawyer. That leaves out most fanfic writers and hands the ball to the giant media companies ... Disney has whole laws made to its specifications, so one lil' writer in court isn't even going to be a speedbump. OTW might defend a case involving "real" fanfic (slash written by women) but if that does anything, it makes it more likely the rights owners will file against men, or against het or gen writers, instead.