How long has the pilot been in production? Additionally, how did the pilot come to be? (who approached who with the idea, etc)

IIRC, this is false. While the derivative work could be infringement, that doesn't transfer ownership of the final product to the owner of the infringed IP. The fanart is owned by the original creator, it just commits infringement. The IP owner can request that it be taken down, but doesn't own it.