Bryan,
Please! If you owned such a lucrative property would you allow people to steal it from you? If you say yes then either you’re not being truthful or you’re terribly foolish.
The copyright/trademarks owner are NOT seeking more rights. They’re only seeking to protect the rights they already have. “Exclusive rights” which are gauranteed to them by the LAW.
Steve is in the wrong. This is not David versus Voldemort as RDR has asserted from the beginning. If anything it’s more like Draco Malfoy stealing Neville Longbottom’s remembral. Draco {Steve} was the thief and he was in the wrong and it was Harry {Rowling/WB} that took up the challenge and got the stolen item back.
I’m sorry you want to turn your back on TLC for doing what is right, rather than what is easy. I support TLC, Rowling, and WB.
Bryan, look up Anne Rice. You are clearly severely uninformed on the subject of published authors and the fanfiction they inspire if you think JKR/WB is controlling.
Leaky wont be Jo’s next target, Bryan. Because Leaky isn’t trying to steal from her. Leaky isn’t trying to break the law. I wouldn’t stick by a friend who insists that breaking the law is ‘the right thing to do’. We dont own Harry Potter. JKR and WB does! Its as simple as that! If he didn’t mess with it in the first place, he wouldn’t be in this situation!
I agree with Dumbleweed. You cant just enjoy something anymore. Everyone wants in and everyone wants some of the money. It makes me sick.
Dang…way to go on sticking to your principles, my respect for Leaky just went up a notch ;)
It is sad though, my heart literally jumped into my throat when I read this. Best of luck to everyone, hopefully this won’t get any uglier than it already has.
Cheers.
OH! And I forgot, SORRY!
THANK YOU! Melissa and everyone at TLC for your decision to make a stand and distance yourself from SVA and his site!
With all the exceptional support for JKR and her creations that TLC has shown over the years, I would hate that TLC would be negatively impacted by what is going on.
I know it was hard to reach the decision but, ... by inaction one endorses the action. Thank you again, for your action!
A true Fan!
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!” Edmund Burke 1727-1797
I completely agree, Leaky I think you made the right choice. I was thinking as I read the SVA interview that he had it completely backwards: If RDR were to win the case, that’s when fan sites and creative endeavors would suffer. A win for RDR (IMO) could possibly set a precident that an author being ok with a fansite was somehow tied to their giving them rights to their work. Authors would end up having to be less… accomodating… to fan endeavors in order to protect themselves. JKR has been so generous with her world and her time and her praise of the sites that celebrate Harry, it would be a damn shame if that came back and bit her.
Leaky, you did do the right thing. I’m sure that made it no easier to do, but I think you will find that most people here will agree with you. It had to be done.
If anyone thinks that Jo wants tighter restrictions on her fans, they are nuts. Jo has always said that she loves what he fans do and is honored by it.
@ all Leaky Satff: You made the right choice. There was no way to carry one except in this manner. You have my full support
Anyone who thinks Jo wants tighter restictions on her fans is nuts. She has always said that she loves what her fans do and is honored.
@all Leaky staff: You did the right thinkand have my full support.
Leaky Staff (Melissa and everyone),
I sympathize with you and admire your decision. I understand those people who wish that this decision could have been put off until the end of the legal case, but I completely understand why you had to make this decision now. Since the Leaky Cauldron and the HP Lexicon are both Internet-centred operations, diverging philosophies on Internet fandom were critical to your decision. This decision could no longer wait on judicial or publishing decisions.
Your objectivity throughout this entire discussion is admirable.
The difference, David, is the site is not for profit and is careful to always acknowledge copyrights.
The book, on the other hand, is “for profit” and uses enormous amounts of someone else’s copyrighted materials without their permission. The book contains 2437 entries…of which only 403 do not lift text directly from the books or unimaginitively paraphrase from the HP canon. In case you’re wondering, that’s 84% of entries that can be directly attributed to Rowling’s copyrighted works. Which leaves an underwhelming 16% of original material in the proposed book attributed to Steve and his 3 co-authors. That’s severe copyright infringement.
Generally, when a fan writes a derivative book they use approximately 10% or less of copyrighted materials. In legal terms this is known as de minimis or ‘trivial’ amount. That ‘trivial’ amount of copyrighted materials is then expounded upon by an additional 90% of original commentary and other material to make the book conform to copyright law’s ‘fair use’ rule.
God, I feel a little like I did when my parents split up. Is that weird?
I do agree with Leaky on this ,since it is a wise business choice, but I have to say everyone sound like Umbridge with all this “they must break away from what is considered an unhealthy relationship” and all.
I must say that I disagree with the “Its about time” idea floating out there. I commend Leaky for waiting before making a decision in this regard. Steve was given the benefit of the doubt right up to the point where he made his intentions and opinions clear.
Steve hasn’t been abandoned in my personal opinion, his actions have alienated his partners, and Leaky has now merely stated that they disagree with what he has done and do not wish to be associated with his actions or his views.
We must never fool ourselves into thinking the Floo network is the be all and end all of HP fandom. This is not the United Nations of Potterdom, but more like the European Union as it were. Not all sites are in the Floo network, only a few. While it is good for the sites to work together while their visions and ideals coincide, nothing forces one member to remain in the group, and the group does not fail in its objective if one member leaves.
The fact that there are diametrically opposed views in this case is a tribute to the universal appeal of the books to such a wide audience where such people can still share a common love for the stories contained in those seven marvelous volumes.
I would like to salute the staff who allow people who disagree with them to voice their opinions so publicly and adamantly with no fear of censorship as long as decency is maintained.
I really appreciate that Leaky has approached this matter with such grace. For what it’s worth, I’m fully behind the decision.
JKR has been overwhelmingly cordial and encouraging of all fansites (yes even Lexicon, until their scurrilous antics). I am sure that she looks on, with great pride, the creativity that her work has inspired in others. After all, she is a TEACHER. And to be able to inspire people to feats of imagination and creativity is a teaher’s greatest reward.
To see someone (SVA) ill-use her by pirating her work and casting a shadow on her intentions is truly dispicable. For SVA to imply that he is still a fan is loathsome and sickening beyond endurance, he is showing the greatest disrespect imaginable! His actions are the true indicators of his REAL intentions and thoughts … NOT his pretty, duplicitious words!...Yep. it is true “Actions do speak louder than words!”
I have not been back to the Lexicon site since this whole thing started. I have un-bookmarked it. I have no intention of ever going there again … I will wait patiently for Jo’s “Scottish Book”.
SVA and his site are pariahs in my book! I am boycotting the site because to do otherwise would be endorsing his reprehensible actions!
As a side note: I really do feel sorry for all the honourable people that have worked on SVA’s site, because they have been painted with the same brush as SVA and are seen as SVA’s toadys. They have been ill-used as well. IMO I do believe in the good intentions of people until they have proven themselves to be undeserving. I think it is clear what SVA’s intentions are!
There really is no defense for SVA … just the observation: “The promise of great wealth makes people crazy!”