WB/JKR vs. RDR/SVA Part 10 |
 Apr 16 2008, 07:16 PM
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#151
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Official Singer of the Sorting Hat Song  Posts: 6,606 Joined: 3:12pm July 22, 2005 Location: Lost in Hermione's beaded bag    |
Why was Jeri Johnson only a rebuttal witness?
ETA: And so Tony Falzone gave a rousing speech at the end and got his little sound byte for FUP. But did it really prove anything? This post has been edited by davidenglish: Apr 16 2008, 07:18 PM -------------------- Come the words that bubble
Up through broken laughter, Sweeter than spring-water, "Gods, I am so happy!" |
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Apr 16 2008, 07:21 PM
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#152
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Just Through the Brick Wall Posts: 14 Joined: 3:56am December 25, 2007 |
Sorry to bring this up, because I can't seem to find the details on this email from SVA to Melissa. I don't remember seeing anything in the news posts, and I've only been following through Leaky (and MN a little I guess). I'm mainly curious about what it has to do with the case, but I understand that it caused Melissa to stop her reporting and turned it over to Kristin. Sorry if I said anything wrong, and hopefully someone can clear this up for me.
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Apr 16 2008, 07:35 PM
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#153
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Official Singer of the Sorting Hat Song Posts: 6,606 Joined: 3:12pm July 22, 2005 Location: Lost in Hermione's beaded bag |
From USAToday:
QUOTE Vander Ark wept on the stand during his appearance Tuesday, saying he had only meant to celebrate Rowling's books, and instead had to live with criticism from other fans. Vander Ark later sold the bridge to Rapoport.He spent most of the trial sequestered, alone, in a witness room, gazing at a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. -------------------- Come the words that bubble
Up through broken laughter, Sweeter than spring-water, "Gods, I am so happy!" |
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Apr 16 2008, 07:40 PM
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#154
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MelvinTLC  Posts: 2,699 Joined: 1:57pm January 4, 2005 Location: My happy place |
QUOTE WB's star witness was a complete and under dud. Definitely untrue. Everyone I heard was talking, as we broke for lunch,a bout how they wanted to take classes wherever Jeri Johnson offered them. And I mean everyone I heard speaking, had that reaction, including a student of Tim Wu's who was there taking notes (and was very nice). The judge and Ms. Johnson also exchanged several pleasantries and laughs, when she, to illustrate an example of something, referred to his mentioned favorite, Bleak House. -------------------- "I am not big enough to love things the way I do!"
~Edna St. Vincent Millay |
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Apr 16 2008, 07:41 PM
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#155
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Knight Bus Driver in Training Posts: 549 Joined: 1:40am January 30, 2006 Location: No one wants Reality |
QuirrellMort, here is a link to the Wall Street Journal Blog post from yesterday that briefly mentions the email: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/04/15/judge-...le/?mod=WSJBlog
So, I just had the chance to read praetorianguard's blog. I do feel a lot better now. LoL. It seems like (which I mentioned earlier actually, I'm kind of proud of that), if RDR wins based on fair use, it won't damage the fandom that much. What will damage the fandom is if RDR wins due to implied liscense, aka. because Jo said the on-line version was okay she gave SVA liscense to publish it in book form for profit. I always assumed this was the case, but I have a very limited law background, so I was worried I was eventing this scenario in my head. QUOTE(MelissaTLC @ Apr 16 2008, 08:40 PM)  QUOTE WB's star witness was a complete and under dud. Definitely untrue. Everyone I heard was talking, as we broke for lunch,a bout how they wanted to take classes wherever Jeri Johnson offered them. And I mean everyone I heard speaking, had that reaction, including a student of Tim Wu's who was there taking notes (and was very nice). Melissa, thank you for letting us know that. The WSJ blog made her sound like a waste of time. Thank you for clearing that up. I feel much better now. This post has been edited by mollywobble: Apr 16 2008, 07:42 PM -------------------- “The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.”- Chuck Palahniuk |
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Apr 16 2008, 07:45 PM
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#156
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MelvinTLC Posts: 2,699 Joined: 1:57pm January 4, 2005 Location: My happy place |
No problem. Tim Wu wasn't actually there, FYI. He might have been the first day.
I think, de, both sides, after the judge urged settlement, tried to streamline the remainder of their arguments, so they decided it would be wasteful to call Ms. Johnson as a witness and THEN a rebuttal witness. At least that's what I understood of what was said today. Here's my ques: Where does it say Ms. Johnson was WB's star witness; wouldn't that have been JKR? ETA: I see what the WSJ said: QUOTE Unimpressed, Judge Robert Patterson interrupted. “It’s not helpful testimony because it draws conclusions without specifics,” he said. “I can’t simply take the expert’s opinion as my own.” This is also a bit of a falsehood; he said this in reference to one answer to one question, not the testimony as a whole. A question was rephrased, and answered, and that was that. Ms. Johnson actually was able to cite Lexicon entries nearly verbatim off the top of her head and frequently did, and spoke in many specific examples and entries, including the loose standards she used to get to the "2034" number in her declaration (re: how many entries don't have additional commentary, etc.) After the judge said this, however, the defense referred to her entire testimony as general. At one point the judge instructed a WB lawyer not to even rephrase a question to Johnson because "she's a very able witness," and could just explain the answer herself. No, Slater definitely is not being comprehensive there. I also saw someone say that the Bleak House reference the judge made was important because a character's money ran out? Not an entirely true assessment: the judge also mentioned that it would be important to settle because there was someone whose reputation stood on the line? (He related it back to Bleak House but it's in my notes somewhere and as I've never read BH, and don't want to analyze this any further, I'll leave it to y'all. If this isn't clear I'll check it against notes later.) -------------------- "I am not big enough to love things the way I do!"
~Edna St. Vincent Millay |
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Apr 16 2008, 08:00 PM
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#157
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Knight Bus Driver in Training Posts: 549 Joined: 1:40am January 30, 2006 Location: No one wants Reality |
I guess I should have said 'expert' witness not 'star' witness. I exaggerated there. Melissa, I'm glad you were there because it gives us another perspective of what was actually going on. It's difficult to get a good feel for how the judge will decide when one day you think RDR did so poorly, and the next day the media says that it was WB who got smoked.
QUOTE(MelissaTLC @ Apr 16 2008, 08:45 PM) At one point the judge instructed a WB lawyer not to even rephrase a question to Johnson because "she's a very able witness," and could just explain the answer herself. No, Slater definitely is not being comprehensive there. Isn't that a pretty important statement to leave out? Woah I'm surprised his post is so one-sided. This post has been edited by mollywobble: Apr 16 2008, 08:06 PM -------------------- “The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.”- Chuck Palahniuk |
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Apr 16 2008, 08:17 PM
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#158
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Being Eaten by the Pea Soup Posts: 19 Joined: 11:34am April 16, 2008 |
Just wanted to say thanks Kristin and Melissa, many of the legal blogs covering the case cited TLC as the best and most thorough coverage.
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Apr 16 2008, 08:19 PM
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#159
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Junior Dishwasher at The Leaky Cauldron Posts: 629 Joined: 11:34pm July 24, 2007 Location: Jamison PA USA |
QUOTE(mollywobble @ Apr 16 2008, 09:00 PM) I guess I should have said 'expert' witness not 'star' witness. I exaggerated there. Melissa, I'm glad you were there because it gives us another perspective of what was actually going on. It's difficult to get a good feel for how the judge will decide when one day you think RDR did so poorly, and the next day the media says that it was WB who got smoked. This comment from the WSJ blog seems to suggest Cheryl Klein's testimony didn't hold up either: QUOTE A friend (also law student) attended the trial yesterday. She said the defense was strong then as well. She seemed really impressed with Mr. Hammer’s cross examination of Cheryl Klein of Scholastic Books. Mr. Hammer must have totally unraveled her testimony leaving the plaintiffs counsel with no option but give her a chance to say she was nervous. She then proceeded to undermine her credentials as a witness and bury her. She thought the plaintiffs case was largely an emotional plea that was quite often poorly presented. Can’t imagine this will be a win for MS. Rowling. This wasn't the first time I have seen that assessment either. I am not sure the report from yesterday made it seem RDR did poorly at all by the way. This blog seemed to lean in favor of JKR, though, until today. It was quite a turn around. -------------------- Our judgements judge us, and nothing reveals us, exposes our weaknesses, more ingeniously than the attitude of pronouncing upon our fellows. - Paul Valery
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Apr 16 2008, 08:24 PM
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#160
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MelvinTLC Posts: 2,699 Joined: 1:57pm January 4, 2005 Location: My happy place |
Cheryl didn't testify and was not present.
-------------------- "I am not big enough to love things the way I do!"
~Edna St. Vincent Millay |
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