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J.K. Rowling Testifies Today in Lawsuit
J.K. Rowling by Eamonn McCormack/WireImage.com
J.K. Rowling will appear in a Manhattan court today to testify in her lawsuit against a publisher hoping to print the Harry Potter Lexicon.
The Lexicon is an encyclopedia — compiled by Steven Vander Ark, who runs a website of the same title with similar content — dedicated to the magical world Rowling created in her seven wildly popular Harry Potter novels. In her lawsuit against Vander Ark's publisher, RDR Books, Rowling claims the book is simply "a rearrangement of her own material."
Although RDR is not challenging Rowling's claim of copyright infringement, the judge will hear testimony to determine if the use of the material in a scholarly pursuit should be deemed legal, according to the AP. Rowling, who has previously praised the website, will testify about the multiple similarities between her texts and the planned Lexicon book. The case is expected to last most of the week.
Do you think Rowling will/should win her case? Is there a difference between using the content online rather than in a book? — Adam Bryant
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Apr 14, 2008 11:58 AM
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Time has passed since I took a copyright class, so my remarks may be taken with a grain of salt, but one thing that I think would weigh on JKR's side is that she herself announced right after Book 7 came out that she planned an encyclopedia because she had so many backstories for minor characters that she never managed to fit into the books. If this Lexicon will take away from this market, it should not be allowed to be published.
I imagine the only difference between the material online and the material in a printed book is the amount of revenue at stake here. I don't know how much someone can make off online ads, or if the current online version even HAS ads. Given the state of Potter Mania and the way fans (myself included) desperately want it to NOT be over, an encyclopedia has the potential to sell millions of copies. If the owner of the Lexicon is purposely trying to capitalize on this and the previously announced JKR encyclopedia, that's just wrong.
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Apr 14, 2008 12:29 PM
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I think it depends on the content included. If the book is literally nothing but an encyclopedia, with her words and definitions taken straight from the books, then IMHO it's not fair use. That's just taking her material and repackaging it for sale. I don't think that's fair. (Whereas, when it was online, it was free to all and could not take away from her.)
However, if the book has (or will be expanded to have) actual scholarly material, such as critical essays about the characters and plotlines, I think that is fair. If the encyclopedic stuff is merely part of a greater whole, then I think that should be allowed.
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Apr 14, 2008 12:38 PM
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Has she made enough money already?
Can't she give someone else the chance of making money!!!
How greedy can she be?!
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Apr 14, 2008 12:53 PM
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john_c11, please go check out a Wikipedia article on the topic of copyright to understand why someone is allowed to protect their intellectual property.
It is not greedy to not want someone to make money off of characters and stories that you spent over 10 years creating.
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Apr 14, 2008 1:00 PM
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She and WB praise the writer's website and his work before and turn around forbidding the writer to publish the book.
Why is that? It is all about money!
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Apr 14, 2008 1:16 PM
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I think it's pathetic. As if she hasn't made enough money! Even if the law is on her side in this ~ I'm not. I am sick to death of rich people being greedy. I hope it costs her more in legal fees than whatever would be made on it. But I'm sure that won't happen ~ She will probably win this. I don't know ~ I'm sure someone will probably blast me for this and say that that is / should be her money. I am not actually disagreeing with that ~ I just think she should have let it go. But I'm sure her lawyers heard about it and wanted their cut of it so ... on with the law suit ...
It's always nice to squash the life out of the fans who love the books so much that they created this only to be sued by the author because she wants ALL of the money.
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Apr 14, 2008 1:19 PM
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It is not greedy to not want someone to make money off of characters and stories that you spent over 10 years creating.
Umm ~ It is if you've already made a trillion dollars.
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Apr 14, 2008 1:21 PM
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ZZZ999,
It is okay when the poor writer promote her books for free or a little returns but the wirter decides to make some more money, she got upset and jealous.
If she did it because she listened to her lawyer and/or WB, I would not consider she is much of a person despite she wrote about all these great characters in the books!!
I would not read or buy any books that she writes in the future!!
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Apr 14, 2008 1:29 PM
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He is not copying her book. This is a lexicon. I don't think she should be doing this. Many authors have had things like this written about their characters, stories, etc. This is the first lawsuit like this I have heard of. It's just plain GREED
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Apr 14, 2008 1:31 PM
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I can't believe people think Rowling is being greedy or trying to crush other people's dreams. If you have dreams of making trillions of dollars, create your own content to do it with, not steal someone's else work! She was broke and on welfare once, did she say, "Oh, I need money so I think I'll publish a lexicon of J.R.R. Tolkien's books 'cause he doesn't need any more money?" No, she's a self-made billionaire and I respect for her that. Don't hate on her for her hard-earned success.
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Apr 14, 2008 1:42 PM
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This in not greed. JKR has already said that the proceeds from her encylopedia will be going to charity. By allowing this Lexicon to go ahead will be taking away from that. The Lexicon is just trying to jump on the bandwagon. If they have an original idea then they can make their own money with that and see how they feel when someone tries to make money from it. I think JKR if fully justified in protecting what is essentially her child.
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Apr 14, 2008 1:45 PM
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john_c11 and ZZZ999, would you please go invent something and make lots of money off of it, so I can steal your idea and make some, too? After all, you seem to think that's okay.
I think that there is a difference between compiling the info on a website and putting it in a book and making a profit. JKR has every right to protest. I don't think it's greedy, I think it's protecting her work. Yes, she's made lots of money from the Harry Potter books, but that doesn't mean that she should now let anyone who wants to use her characters, and her words, to make money.
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Apr 14, 2008 2:02 PM
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Why JK Rowling and WB did not stop this writer from publishing this on his website if this is all about copywrigth?!
Website is a form of media and if one publishes something on the web, it would violate copyright too!!
Why did JK Rowling and WB wait until the writer decided to publish the book to file the lawsuit not when the website first published?!
Can someone explain to me?
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Apr 14, 2008 2:16 PM
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Greed has nothing to do with it. This is about intellectual property. Also - letting this person get away with it opens the doors for others in the future to do the same thing.
This is JK Rowling's property. For anyone else to do anything with it is stealing. Period.
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Apr 14, 2008 2:17 PM
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