I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support in recent days. Everyone here at the Lexicon, all volunteers, regrets the unpleasantness. We have always been interested in working with the publishers of the novels to satisfy their concerns, interests and needs and we certainly do not plan nor have we ever planned to publish anything which competes with Ms. Rowling’s fine literary capabilities. Our work has nothing to do with fiction writing and is only concerned with legitimate critical analysis and academic considerations. It has been widely approved and employed by Ms. Rowling herself.
My book was started in response to many, many people who talked to me and asked if there could be a print version of the Lexicon, not in some sort of attempt to profit off of fans. Because the material for the book was not only accepted but praised and used frequently by every entity concerned with creating the Harry Potter books, games, and films, I would never have thought that a print version could be judged differently.
I sincerely hope that this matter can be resolved amicably and ask for you patience and understanding during that process.
Other new details are as follows: Following yesterday’s post which said there was a possibility that essays would be included in the Lexicon, several Lexicon essay writers have publicly said that they were not asked for permission to have their essay reprinted, and some essay writers have been assured by Lexicon staff that there will be no essays in the book at all. We have asked the publisher which is correct and will amend this post if we get an answer.
Update: RDR books answered our query with a lengthy statement that neither confirmed nor denied. We’ve asked for a more direct answer and have yet to receive one.
Update 2: TLC has received word via a reliable source that the initial email to Steve Vander Ark and RDR Books was phrased as an attempt to appeal to the Lexicon’s status as a site favored by J.K. Rowling. It also, according to the source, clearly named Warner Bros. as at stake and called Vander Ark a friend of the series and someone publishers/lawyers/agents were sure did not want to disrupt Rowling’s rights. RDR has called the email “threatening and abusive” and claimed that Warner Bros. only claimed rights after RDR sent them a letter regarding the timeline on the Harry Potter DVDs.
Also in the time since this issue began the book has risen from ranked lower than 230,000 in Amazon.co.uk books, to 7,034 as of this posting.
Update 3: A reader has commented that they ordered the book in the UK, which was slated to have a Nov. 5, 2007, publication date; the order was pushed back to January, 4, 2008, instead.
The Harry Potter Lexicon is a partner site to The Leaky Cauldron. The opinions and claims argued here do not constitute The Leaky Cauldron’s opinion or claim (of which it has none).
Er, if all wants to do is make it so people can have a print version of the Lexicon, why not add a freakin print button to the site? Yeesh!
Seriously, the Lexicon and especially RDR books is coming off terribly at this point. It’s pretty obvious that Jo/WB were forced into this situation due to RDR and Steve’s complete lack of cooperation with (not to mention respect for) the people who actually created and own this universe. Shame on Steve, and shame on these horrid publishers.
Very weak. I haven’t explored every page of his site, but the bulk of it does NOT qualify as “critique”. From what I understand what critique that IS there is authored by other people.
I’ll wait for JKR’s version, even if this IS published.
Er, is it actually true that the movies and video games used the Harry Potter Lexicon for information? And saying that the Lexicon was “used frequently by every entity concerned with creating the Harry Potter books” really makes it sound as though the Harry Potter books were created off his website, not the other way around…
Well, I think that J.K. Rowling should read this, because it is very sweet. She should not have tried to suit him in the first place I think. It must have been so freaky for him. I mean, he gets asked to make a print version for his site, and all of a second he’s being suit by his idol, J.K.R.!!!! He thought he was being nice to her and helping people understand the books, not trying to compete with her. For once, I think J.K.R. was wrong. But, hey. I’m just a fan.
Posted by Hazel Hering a.k.a. Lunafan7 on November 05, 2007, 04:11 AM
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Critical analysis? The Lexicon is something like 80% reorganized facts from the books and the only critical analysis is the essays, which it looks like will not be included in the published version. Reorganizing the the information(characters, places, spells, etc.) in list form does not qualify as critical analysis or original content. I think it’s really foolish of Steve and RDR to keep pursuing this. It doesn’t even matter whether Jo decides to make her own encyclopedia or not, she owns the rights to the Harry Potter world and she has the right to approve or disapprove of derivative works that attempt to make a profit. That’s the law.
This is a big backpedaling act and an attempt tpass this off as simply what the fandom wanted.
POST A PDF, or SELL IT OR FREE, or DONATE PROCEEDS TO CHARITY, why don’t you…but no, let’s pretend that a $24.95 cover price is simply to appease the fandom.
If Steve was just trying to ‘be nice’ to fans, then he’d be giving the book away for FREE, like the website. That’s why fanfic authors don’t charge people to read their stories or have them published as books and sell them for profit. They know they’ll get their pants sued off if they do. Of course Jo’s been okay with the website all along, it’s not a pay site is it? But now Steve and RDR are trying to profit off what is basically a series of lists of things in the book. So wrong.
lolz that was a perfect statement!! the fandom is NOT responsible for you, steve!!! YOU made the decision, not us!!
this is so stupid. just say you’re not gonna print it and let everyone get on with their lives.
and here’s a question for you: how come – if the site is in such massive demnd – there ISNT a print button? or the ability to copy anything written on it?
if you’re claiming to do it for the fandom, then you might wanna check how easily accessible the info on the site is to fans!!!!
Posted by padfootrocksmysocks on November 05, 2007, 04:19 AM
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Even if every editor on every edition used the Lexicon to check every fact, THAT DOES NOT AWARD HIM COPYRIGHT.
I wasn’t mad before, and I am now. He’s trying to pass this off on the fans. That’s ridiculous.
Steve isn’t calling it a “critique”. JKR’s people are the ones who used that term, saying they didn’t believe the book was a critique, and they got that right, it isn’t. Obviously. I don’t know why they’d even put that out there as a possibility.
Its academic. When you write an academic paper in school, (or in the scientific community for that matter), you’re free to cite, quote, and detail any other factual material you want, as long as you REFERENCE it. You can even have that paper published as long as everything is properly referenced.
And Steve’s lexicon always always always references it sources (which by the way aren’t just the book, they’re also interviews and JRK’s own website).
Steve compiled his lexicon useing the books, interveiw material, and website material, as well as his own workings when given specific dates and infering the dates of other events. He didn’t just sit down with the Potter books and copy out facts. It obviously took a lot of hard work, various sources, attention to detail and observation.
In my mind the lexicon is much more similar to a scientific paper then a work of fiction, a critique, or a ‘rearangement’ of JKR’s books charactors and plot.
Not if your assignment was to compile a comprehensive paper organizing all known information about spells, locations, and people in the Harry Potter universe, using various sources.
THE FANDOM MADE ME DO IT!!!
NO WAY!
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, do you think he knows how bad of an argument that is?