But I've always thought there was more to it than that, ever since I learned that there was a book packager involved and that not even full copyright rested with our young Harvard prodigy. And lookee here:
http://www.harvardindependent.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=9941
Which does make you think. And if this kind of company went out and used an eager 19-year-old as a human shield to take the flak should they get nabbed in the act of riding roughshod over copyright, that's criminal. If I were Kaavya, I'd be seriously considering legal action at this point. What has she got to lose? Her own reputation has already been shot. Whether or not she ACTIVELY had anything to do with the actual copyright infringements, it seems clear that the packagers at the very least share the blame if not shoulder the lion's share of it. If I were her I would not go down in flames alone.
But they picked well. She's NINETEEN. SHe might well be at Harvard, but her resources (the half-mil advance notwhithstandign) have got to be limited - or at least limited enough for any potential action to have to be weighed very carefully.
WHere's Oprah when you need her...?
UPDATE
And it continues.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1915495
Not only has the entire publishing deal been pulled, with all that this entails, but her name is now sufficently mud for THIS to happen:
Meanwhile, The Record of Bergen County said Tuesday that it will review the news articles Visvanathan wrote for the 180,000-circulation daily paper in northern New Jersey while an intern in 2003 and 2004.
Editor Frank Scandale said The Record, which has written several of its own articles about the plagiarism allegations, will hire a service to vet the dozen or so light features she wrote while one of about 18 interns at the paper.
Oy vey.
