sigh.

He is SO busted!

I don’t understand why they don’t point out that any of us could re-create his work using the HP Books if we wanted to dedicate our time to it…thus, it can’t possibly belong to him. There is absolutely no original thought, just a re-ordering of information that is useful to us fans to help understand the books when needed.

What a shame. It makes me sad.

asi feared it is becoming nasty it is a shame some agreement could not be worked out, what id love to see is Steve and Jo sitting down over tea or coffee ( I have no idea of their preferencesin hot beverages) and working out an agreement but alas it looks like that is not to be

The article helps clear up some things for me. I just find the whole thing a mess and distasteful though necessary.

It is all fascinating, from a legal standpoint, and I am utterly on on Jo’s and WB’s side – however, I can’t help feeling bad for Steve. It must be tearing him apart to know that someone he looks up to is filing suit against him, especially if he hadn’t even been in it for the money. (I am still undecided on this point. I don’t want to think too ill of him, however the evidence is rather damning. Why else would he do it?)

The most disturbing things are the emails he sent back to those fans before book seven, saying he knew it would be illegal to publish it. I don’t know what to think about that. Why would he have changed his mind and done it anyway? The whole thing is so distressing.

I can’t believe that people think that WB & Jo winning this will HURT the fansites. The opposite is actually the case. If WB & JKR lose this they will be forced to more drastically protect their copyrights. God, this is such an unfortunate situation, but it’s become quite obvious that it’s arised due to Steve making many unfortunate choices. Sad.

Ascatal, sitting down is never going to happen. Its not about bad feelings between the people involved, its simply that this is a serious issue now and no lawyer would likely advise JKR and WB to simply throw caution to the wind. With the judicial system involved, not too mention a lot of money, all things must now be done carefully and correctly.

I have to admit, I really don't feel sorry for SVA. I don't think he's some evil human being, but I do believe he knew what he was doing and chose to ignore common sense. Of course, that's just my opinion.

I do, however, feel great sympathy for Jo. SHe's given us a wonderful series, and she gets people try to screw her over.

Oddly enough, why is it that so many posts say they feel sorry for SVA but don’t mention Jo (not all). Is she not human too? Is she not deserving of sympathy and support too? Does she not deserve the benefit of the doubt?

I agree with buggub – I could have created the Lexicon myself had I had that much time to devote. He may have put a lot of time and effort into it, but he simply organized facts out of a book, he didn’t create anything. The timeline thing really bothers me too – I don’t think he had any right to that either, again, anyone could have sat down and figured it out properly if they cared to. I’m finding this whole debacle infuriating, for Jo’s sake of course, but also that anyone could have the gall to try to pull something like this! And get so far with it before being shut down.

What a freaking mess. No one is looking good in this case, including Ms Rowling who I wish would stop claiming the lexicon book would hit her profits. No one in their right mind would not buy her book and buy this one instead.

SVA though is looking more and more desperate. What a shame private emails have been produced in court but that is the risk you take. To insult teenage webmasters is just not cool. Age is nothing if you have dedication and skill – Mr VA is now coming across as pathetic and desperate.

No winners – just one helluva mess.

You are a brave and courageous woman, Melissa, for reading 1100 plus pages of legalese in such a short time!

Many thanks for keeping us so well informed.

Well, folks, now we wait to hear what RDR responds in a few weeks….

That sound you hear are the anvils of total pwnage falling on Steve Vander Ark and RDR Books.

I don’t see how they stand a chance. It’s best to just kiss any published HPL goodbye now, because there’s no way they’re surviving this suit.

WB and JKR are too money hungry. I love the books just like the next guy, I’ve read them each over 10 times infact. Let the guy publish his book. Some of us may buy it, most won’t. Most of us will wait until JKR publishes her encylopedia anyway. They can share the wealth, let Vander Ark sell a couple thousand books. Its nothing we don’t already know if you’ve read the book. The guy has obviously dedicated a lot of the past decade to Harry Potter and has complied facts that a lot of us would like in book form for easy access. This shouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is. JKR can shard .0000001% of future Harry Potter earnings with this guy.

Serafina, if one person, just one, says they dont have to buy the “Scottish Book”, because they “already have the other”, then it did eat into her profits. But to me, that’s not even the issue, especially considering what I’ve see of the exhibits. I cant imagine why anyone thinks SVA should have any right to sell this book. I know someone already said this, but I also dont understand all the sympathy expressed for SVA, as if he is some innocent party. He’s smart enough to know he does not own any of these rights, and has no right to post. And this mornings post, including the email where he tells someone that it would be illegal to publish, proves he DID know already.

I also dont get all the hubub over the timeline. Um… where do we think he got it? Yeah, JKR’s original work. Nice try, tho.

Ditto on budb’s comment: Melissa, you are one dedicated webmistress. And, exactly how many cups of coffee did you need to consume to stay focused while reading through this mess?

I am anxious to read SVA/RDR’s reply. But, as of now, I’m not sure what they could say that would make this any better. It’s like watching a train wreck…

In response to Amanda, Jo Rowling is not in the wrong in any way shape or form. A published HP Lexicon would hurt profits for exactly the reason stated in the summary: it would be bought as a gift for Harry Potter fans. Not everyone who knows I am obsessed with Harry Potter would know that JKR is planning to write the “Scottish Book,” so why wouldn’t they buy me the Lexicon if they saw it? Vander Ark is being simply rediculous and I personally can’t wait for him to lose so Jo will have more time to work on the “Scottish Book!”