Oh, man. Chris Elliott's book is in the news.

From Publisher's Weekly:

In attempt to use the Internet to research his first novel, comedian Chris Elliott, famed for playing oddball characters in films like The Cabin Boy, has ended up in a typically odd situation. Using material from a faux historical Web site he thought was public domain material, Elliot unknowingly included copyrighted material in his new novel without permission.

Happily, Elliott and the creator of Boilerplate have worked out a deal without everything getting ugly:

After learning the truth, Elliott contacted Guinan and the two have worked to avoid bringing in lawyers. They have negotiated a settlement and Guinan will receive a percentage of Elliott's earnings from the book and as well as credit for his creation in future editions.

For his part, Elliott is embarrassed, but jokes that, "people think because of my comedy career I must be smart, but the truth is I am a total moron."

There's another article about the situation at the New York Times.