A couple of quick updates in the Lexicon case, in which J.K. Rowling and WB are trying to stop publication of an unofficial encyclopedia based on the Harry Potter Lexicon web site:
First, Steve Vander Ark, editor of the Lexicon, wrote Ansible, a prominent British fan zine, in defense of RDR Books’ case, saying, among other things, that “Part of the problem all along has been the automatic assumption on the part of many that Rowling has the right to completely control anything written about the Harry Potter world. That’s quite a huge power grab on her part and from everything I can tell, not legal.”
The letter also says: “[Dave Langford, editor of Ansible] and I are part of a subculture that lives off the creative work of others. We always try to do that in a legal and respectful way. However, if Rowling manages to extend her reach that far into our subculture, she will choke us off very quickly. And if she doesn’t, what’s to stop the next person from taking this legal precedent to even more dangerous places?”
In addition, a new opinion piece in the NYT Business section also calls the case a “power grab” and attempt to “choke” creativity by J.K. Rowling, and calls her a “copyright hog,” before going on to extensively profile Attorney Falzone and the Stanford U. Fair Use Project, which is arguing for the RDR Books’ side of the case. There is very little talk in this editorial of the merits of the actual Lexicon case or whether the book falls into fair use (in fact the article assumes that it does), only a wide and generic look at the history of copyright law and how this case may or may not fit into it.
As for the expected filings on the case: Some will come tomorrow afternoon (they will be filed overnight and take some time to process), and one exhibit, over 15MB in size, can only be filed in hard copy. That file is of some companion books already on the market, so there may not be any need to have it available for download.
We’d like to remind everyone to please be civil in the comments.
There are really only two opinions on this matter. From the look of the comments here, it would seem that the score is JKR – 10,000 vs. SVA – 3. We will never, through thoughtful argument, change the opinions of the people on the other side. Those who side with Ms. Rowling will always side with her. Those in Steve Vander Ark’s camp will most likely stay there.
The courts have done a great disservice to the Harry Potter fandom, by allowing this mess to become so protracted. This unsavory legal fiasco has proven to be the only truly divisive event to plague this uniquely unifying phenomenon, which we all care so very much about.
Interestingly, this is a case about ownership. I doubt there’s a single person reading this who doesn’t feel at least a little ownership of the Harry Potter series. We, the fans, have had an unprecedented amount of say in the franchise. Ultimately, the decisions weren’t ours, but our collective voice has been heard by filmmakers, video game programmers, theme park designers, toy builders, and even the author. For the first time, this community’s collective voice does not matter. Judges and lawyers are the only people who matter now.
The final ruling in regard to this ugly battle will be the result of a trained legal professional’s interpretation of long-standing laws, scripted arguments and piles of documentation. It could go either way. If the final ruling is in favor of WB and J.K. Rowling’s motion to quell the publication of The HP Lexicon in book form, then the vast majority of Harry Potter fans will begin their countdown to the publication of the official HP encyclopedia. If the ruling favors RDR/SVA, then a different countdown may begin. I’m speaking, of course, of the countdown to the time when our collective voice can once again be heard.
Should Mr. Vander Ark and his publisher enjoy victory in the courtroom, we, as a community, can assure that their victory is not so sweet. The enormous legal costs they have and will, no doubt, continue to incur can only be justified and offset by huge sales of the book they’re fighting so hard to publish. We can make our voice heard by not buying it.
I’m a devoted fan of the Harry Potter series and I appreciate the work that J.K. Rowling put into creating it. I’ve had a blast at the book release parties and enjoyed talking with other devoted fans. I make no secret of the fact that I fully support the author’s case. I would be happy to wait ten years for her to publish her official book.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that somewhere, deep inside, I’m half-hoping that SVA/RDR wins their case. As fun as those book release parties were, I think it would be just as much fun to stand outside my local bookstore picketing the release of the HP Lexicon!
Posted by Laceratius Bloodletter on February 09, 2008, 07:49 AM
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First, Melissa, thank you for your professionalism, integrity, objectivity, and impartiality. You and the staff at the-leaky-cauldron.org are what the editorial staff at the NYT should be. God bless you.
Second, without reading the entire HPL as it was set to be published, we fans can not determine if “fair use” requirements are met or not, which as has been so rightly posted numerous times previous to this is what the suit all hinges on.
True, SVA’s public commets sound damaging to his credibility and show him in unfavorable light to us fans. It is true, too, that the NYT piece is biased and drips with half-truths, misdirection, and antagonizing sarcasm. All of which, I suppose, is designed to drive up web traffic to the NYT from the controversy it stirs, enabling them to justify their advertising rates. For however bungling RDR/SVA and their attorneys appear to us, all the facts are not yet public and the courts have not yet ruled. Well, at least the US District Court hasn’t even if the public opinion one has based on the side the majority of these posts are coming down on.
JKR/WB have the right to defend her intelectual property and I think will do so successfully. I just wonder how many rings the circus will have before it’s over.
I’ve said it once and I will say it again. Steve has NO rights to the content of the Harry Potter series, no matter how much work he has put into the Lexicon. We are grateful towards Jo for the freedom she allows the fandom, but Steven is taking the biscuit. It’s disappointing that a person who seemed so genuine is trying so hard to make a quick buck from this.
I was even more sickened when he tried to use Jo to get a work visa for the UK. Pathetic.
I really feel angry that SVA and some opinion in NYT calling WB/JK’s side a power grab. JK has allowed so much discussion and reference to her work on the web all these years. She’s allowed people to write fanfiction, speculative essays and to speculate on the future story in forums, to quote her interviews etc etc. She’s not power crazy or a copyright hog. If she were she’d have sued all these websites over and over again.
JK has the right to defend her rights to her creative work when it is being used in a non-creative way.
Yeah, it was in a previous post on this subject. He said he was looking to move to the UK soon and was in need of a work permit and thought he could work with Jo to compile her encyclopaedia.
will orwont ; I really liked your post and it also alarmed me a lot! I think you are right. If RDR win it will have implications beyond the HP books.
As an ex-librarian, I will confirm that there is nothing creative about the organization of information into A to Z lists, even with cross-referencing. It’s a quite standard and natural way of enabling access to a range of knowledge, something which reference librarians have to do a lot and at speed as well as enabling access for other people. It’s true that it’s difficult to get a really good index (anyone else get frustrated with the Yellow Pages like me??), but that doesn’t mean it’s a creative job.
Until now I didn’t know how involved Steve had been with the case, whether RDR had taken it out of his hands or not. But now I see that he’s 100% behind it, that last tiny bit of respect I had has gone out of the window. I hope with every fibre of my being that he loses.
Melissa, thank you for reporting all of this in such a civilised way, but I’m sorry- I can’t be civil about it. This man is an idiot.
By nature, I have always been somewhat of a devils advocate. This whole case has been most unfavourable to Steve Van Ark image. But nevertheless I always gave him some benefit of the doubt. Now I feel there is hardly any doubt from me for Steve to benefit from! I dont think Steve is a “bad guy” but he is certainly coming across as very shifty. I am still aghast from a previous article that with RDR, he arranged profit percentage from the Floo Network behind all his partners’ back. Melissa herself said she was unaware.
Posted by Professor Potter on February 09, 2008, 01:04 PM
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While the comments by Steve Vander Ark have been unsavory at best, I cannot help but be disturbed by the behavior of both sides in this case. Mr. Vander Ark hides behind a defense of free speech and fair use, and J.K. Rowling and WB claim copyright infringement. However, the bottom line for everyone involved seems to be MONEY.
Vander Ark would not be fighting if the publication of the new book would not bring him much more money than he possibly makes with the website. Why not just post the new material for the book on the site? Because book sales inevitably bring more money than the google ads on his site. Why are Rowling and the WB figting so hard? Money. Rowling states that she wants that money to go to her charities, but, it still comes down to the cash.
One last caveat. Everyone involved in this case should really think about what’s at stake here. The NYTimes article may not have been informed about the Lexicon’s book, but it was accurate about the reprucussions should the RDR/Vander Ark lose. If because of the lexicon’s encyclopedia, and Rowling/the WB’s suit, others lose just a little more freedom in their creativity (which may be more than just an encyclopedia/commentary), that would be sad indeed.
Joy, I fail to follow your point. In my opinion if RDR/SVA win then things will get much more difficult for fans to join in the fandom. Copyright holders will see it as a loss of control of their intilectual property and fight ever so much harder to restrict anyone from borrowing or building on their work. You’ll see authors and publishers and studios trolling the market for any sign or unauthorized use and spending time and money to protect their rights. Fanfic, wizard rock, and reference sites will feel as though a vice is tightening on them from the constant pressure of the everpresent monitoring lawyers. Big Brother will be watching and fighting to restrict the fandom. All that will result in higher costs for us to buy books and see the movies.
If JKR/WB will I think the status quo would be maintained regarding the fandom.
Joy, I fail to follow your point. In my opinion if RDR/SVA win then things will get much more difficult for fans to join in the fandom. Copyright holders will see it as a loss of control of their intilectual property and fight ever so much harder to restrict anyone from borrowing or building on their work. You’ll see authors and publishers and studios trolling the market for any sign of unauthorized use and spending time and money to protect their rights. Fanfic, wizard rock, and reference sites will feel as though a vice is tightening on them from the constant pressure of the everpresent monitoring lawyers. Big Brother will be watching and fighting to restrict the fandom. All that will result in higher costs for us to buy books and see the movies.
If JKR/WB win I think the status quo would be maintained regarding the fandom.
how stupid can you get !!!! i mean JKR wrote the damn books and copyrighted them under her name therefore they are leagaly hers!!! but people seem to think that just because she want’s a say in what happens to them she a copyright hog!!!!! i mean come on !!! use some common semse
k
There are really only two opinions on this matter. From the look of the comments here, it would seem that the score is JKR – 10,000 vs. SVA – 3. We will never, through thoughtful argument, change the opinions of the people on the other side. Those who side with Ms. Rowling will always side with her. Those in Steve Vander Ark’s camp will most likely stay there.
The courts have done a great disservice to the Harry Potter fandom, by allowing this mess to become so protracted. This unsavory legal fiasco has proven to be the only truly divisive event to plague this uniquely unifying phenomenon, which we all care so very much about.
Interestingly, this is a case about ownership. I doubt there’s a single person reading this who doesn’t feel at least a little ownership of the Harry Potter series. We, the fans, have had an unprecedented amount of say in the franchise. Ultimately, the decisions weren’t ours, but our collective voice has been heard by filmmakers, video game programmers, theme park designers, toy builders, and even the author. For the first time, this community’s collective voice does not matter. Judges and lawyers are the only people who matter now.
The final ruling in regard to this ugly battle will be the result of a trained legal professional’s interpretation of long-standing laws, scripted arguments and piles of documentation. It could go either way. If the final ruling is in favor of WB and J.K. Rowling’s motion to quell the publication of The HP Lexicon in book form, then the vast majority of Harry Potter fans will begin their countdown to the publication of the official HP encyclopedia. If the ruling favors RDR/SVA, then a different countdown may begin. I’m speaking, of course, of the countdown to the time when our collective voice can once again be heard.
Should Mr. Vander Ark and his publisher enjoy victory in the courtroom, we, as a community, can assure that their victory is not so sweet. The enormous legal costs they have and will, no doubt, continue to incur can only be justified and offset by huge sales of the book they’re fighting so hard to publish. We can make our voice heard by not buying it.
I’m a devoted fan of the Harry Potter series and I appreciate the work that J.K. Rowling put into creating it. I’ve had a blast at the book release parties and enjoyed talking with other devoted fans. I make no secret of the fact that I fully support the author’s case. I would be happy to wait ten years for her to publish her official book.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that somewhere, deep inside, I’m half-hoping that SVA/RDR wins their case. As fun as those book release parties were, I think it would be just as much fun to stand outside my local bookstore picketing the release of the HP Lexicon!