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).
$24.95. Hmmmm. I guess those all those underpriviledged kids and impoverished nations RDR Books was going on about are out of luck. How are they possibly going to afford that?
Yeah, of course, which is why that is not ever what a paper is. “Catalog all the facts in the Harry Potter books for me?” That’ snot something that gets you an A, or ever should, unless you’re studying for an MLS, or to be an archivist. Nothing else.
This is so obviously a theft of intellectual property that I’m disgusted a so-called “fan” would even consider such a betrayal. What a huge disappointment to Jo and the rest of us real fans-the ones who understand that what you’ve done is more than cross the line legally and morally. I hope everyone BOYCOTTS YOUR SITE from now on-I know I will. And even The Leaky Cauldron-long one of my favorite sites-is under a caution flag if it is truly associated with you. Shame on you! Obliviate!
Ok, I’m sorry but Steve has NO arguement! The information on his site is NOT HIS! It was all JKR’s from the books. Who cares if she has used the site, I think he should be flattered yes, but she could have just looked in her books to find the exact same things. A book entirely about critical anaalysis of her books is one thing. A book composed almost entirely of facts ripped straight from her books is completely different and wrong. It just isn’t his information to be proffiting off of!
The whole thing about using sueing WB for using ‘his’ timeline was also ridiculous. If JKR herself decided to sit down and make the timeline herself, not only would she probably do a more accurate job seeing as she owns the HP verse, but if Steve’s version was in fact, correct, then they would be exactly the same! To be honest I can’t believe Steve would actually do this to the woman who is supposedly his idol. He is stealing her work to make a profit, nothing more. The website is much easier to navigate and it is free. The website is what a true HP fan would do in thanks to JKR for her amazing books. Attempting to make money off it is just greedy, and I’m pretty sure it is illegal as well.
JKR better win this one, otherwise there is just no justice. He may have more of an arguement if he were doing it for charity, but he isn’t. Also, I think it is kind of sad, almost scary, that he really seems to think of the work on the lexicon as ‘his.’ Poor JKR.. she spends 17 years of her life writing HP to have it taken away from her. Who cares if she is rich, it is still her work, rich or poor should not make a difference. A rich man’s car gets stolen vs. a poorer person’s…. it is still a crime!
Ok, well I think I’ve said enough. I love JKR and I will stand by her no matter what! Screw you HP World Stealing Steve!
It sure could get you an A. I’m studying Marine Environmental Technology, and I’ve had to write similar scientific papers.
Things like “organize all the relevant water quality guidelines for chemical and biolgical components in Canada”.
Well there are a lot of sets of guidelines, from a lot of different sources, so a paper detailing a compleate and comprehensive set would actually be enormously useful. Same deal here.
If Steve truly cared about the fans he wouldn’t go so apesh*t every time someone copies and pastes something from the Lexicon. If Steve truly cared about the fans he wouldn’t be attempting to charge us $25 for something that is available to us for free. If Steve truly cared about the fans he wouldn’t do something that is so blatantly against JKR’s wishes, resulting in Jo most likely not trusting fan sites anymore. Which means, guess what, we all lose. Thanks a lot, Steve.
Ashes, you may call it ‘academic’ but unfortunately copyright law is not concerned with that term, only with whether or not a work is merely derivitive, or if it truly is a critique, something which presents original content. It doesn’t matter if Steve referenced his sources. If all the material he presents is unoriginal then he’s breaking the law.
Check this out:
Augusta “Gran” Longbottom
Neville’s grandmother who is raising him in the absence of his parents. She is a forceful, strong woman who wears green robes, a fox-fur scarf, a distinctive hat topped with a stuffed vulture, and carries a large red handbag. Neville loves her, but he’s a bit scared of her as well. She is Frank’s mother and she treats both Neville and his parents very unsentimentally. When Alice gives Neville a bubblegum wrapper, Gran dismisses it and tells Neville to throw it away. The boy pockets it, however.
This is what most of the Lexicon is. A lengthy and admitted time consuming reorganization of facts written in the Harry Potter books. Sure Steve spent a lot of time doing this. But unless he’s including an essay on what he thinks about Augusta Longbottom(i.e, original content) then he’s infringing on Rowlings copyrights. And it looks like there aren’t going to be essays in this book.
Maybe there are essays. But if there are, then why don’t RDR just give Jo a copy of the manuscript to prove that they’re within their rights? IMHO, not supplying a review copy was a very shady move on the part of the publishers, and honestly, most of their responses to the lawsuit make them sound very ignorant and unprofessional.
“Fossil” pointed this out in a previous thread and I think it really deserves to be posted again…
“Trademarks rights must be maintained through actual use of the trademark. These rights will diminish over time if a mark is not actively used. In the case of a trademark registration, failure to actively use the mark, or to enforce the registration in the event of infringement, may also expose the registration itself to removal from the register after a certain period of time.”
As you can see, WB has not only the right but the responsibility to protect themselves and their trademarks.
One floor down, pandemonium reigned. Somebody (and Harry had a very shrewd idea who) had set off what seemed to be an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks.
$24.95. Hmmmm. I guess those all those underpriviledged kids and impoverished nations RDR Books was going on about are out of luck. How are they possibly going to afford that?