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One possible compromise is to allow publication of the book with all proceeds to benefit the charity of Jo’s choosing. (Or some variation thereof.)

@ Mr. Blood on April

Yes, but that would make the Lexicon people the ‘winner’, since Jo doesn’t just worry about the money, but also genuinely thinks it’s plagiarism… Hence me thinking that, if the judge suggests this, he probably sees the book published.

I am completely behind J. K. Rowling on this. RDR books, or whatever they are, are terrorizing a creator for her works! How would you like it if you created a WORLD and then some people who think they know better than you go and start making an encyclopedia? I deeply admire Ms Rowling for her courage and cleverness to stand up to these people who are doing a wrong thing to what she created! And in one of the links I read that she is 42. I was a little suprised. She doesn’t look a year over 30. To anyone in RDR or siding with them, I don’t mean any offense, but I completely back Ms. Rowling up.

How about a guest contributions section in JKs book edited by her if she wishes. Might now be a good thing for RDR but something could be arranged there too. After all they got a ton of name recognition out of all of this? That might be a bit far out but what do you think?

This is an extremely difficult case for all involved. It’s difficult because of the copyright laws that are already in place and also because there are so many laws that AREN’T out there when it comes to information on the internet, which is where the original Lexicon resided. And let’s be real, Jo didn’t mind the Lexicon when it was on the Internet because no one was profiting from it. And I agree with her wholeheartedly. When things are on the Internet, and no profit is being made from it – then it’s not hurting her or the franchise. This isn’t about money, it’s about HER. The fact of the matter is, SVA took advantage of the fact that she had given him an award for his site and then allowed himself to get swept up in that and taken away.

SVA is 50. He’s not in his early 20s. He’s not even in his early 30s. He’s 50 years old. He’s more than old enough to be my father (in fact my father is only 6 years older than him). My dad does not have a degree in law. He doesn’t work in law, he dabbles in politics (on the small town level) but other than that, my dad has a bachelor’s degree in Communications Engineering. SVA more likely than not has a masters in Reading Literacy, which is what my mother, an elementary school teacher, and most librarians, have. SVA should have known better. What upsets me most is that SVA claims to love HP and Jo so much and yet is putting her through all of this, to profit.

Jo isn’t asking him to dismantle the website (though I wouldn’t blame her if she did now). She just wants to stop the production of his book. Once you start profiting on someone else’s words, that is when you have crossed the lines. I’ve started looking at the scans. It’s sickening how much of Jo’s work is in there, without being cited. Even if you paraphrase, you damn well better cite. I go to a top 30 school. Do you know how much we get spoken to about citing our sources? Every single paper we write. Down to the two page nothing papers we write. I have to quote movies if I use them as a source. No matter what I use I quote it, cite it whatever. I’m 21 years old. SVA has 30 years on me. And probably more education. He should have known better.

I don’t envy Judge Patterson. I have a minor in Law. He’s an intelligent man, there is no question about that. He may not have understood Harry Potter, but it’s not everyone’s thing. He got to the bench by getting his degree and working his way up. You don’t become a Judge by stepping out of law school and just deciding you want to be one (though I know many wish it were that easy). He has a really difficult decision to make on a case that doesn’t have predecessors to back it up.

For everyone’s sake (and by everyone I mean all readers, writers, and those to come) I hope Jo wins this one. It would be a shame to see the rest of the writers out there have to fight for their property to stay under their name because of one book.

Yes, maybe… But I don’t think either party would want that. And especially – who of us would want stuff from the Lexicon book in Jo’s Scottish book? Jo’d be the first to not want that: she doesn’t need SVA, she knows better! She knows more, too- she wrote it.

woops, my last piece was a reply to daddyfrog

yea your right it would be a bit unlikely. But, surely there is a way to get back to just plain enjoying HP.

I truely hope, for Jo’s sake most of all, that this case won’t take years. She thought she could have a break from it all…

Amen!

Hmmm. I wonder how the different Supreme Court Justices would feel about this. I wonder if for example a more conservative justice would be more likely to rule in favor of stricter copyright protection and a more liberal justice would be more likely to rule in favor of more liberal fair use laws.

No matter which way the court rules, I believe SVA has acted unethically. I believe this because someone had the goodwill to allow him license to make a living off a website free of copyright restriction, and then, in spite of being asked by that person not to do it, he has gone ahead and put that person in the position where her goodwill is being used against her. I believe this is unethical behavior. This doesn’t mean squat in terms of the outcome of the trial, because people acting unethically receive favorable court rulings all the time, but I like to believe that people who behave this way tend to have their behaviour come ‘round and bite them in the backside at some point. Call it karma or whatever.

And when JKR said (paraphrasing here), “they might not read the book for entertainment, but there are entertaining things in the book and I wrote them,” it really brought home to me the principle at stake here. It’s probably hard for the average person to imagine how much work and effort she put into each and every one of those anecdotes and descriptions that basically constitute the text of the Lexicon. But I am sure as JKR is reading the Lexicon, on just about every entry, she is seeing something that she remembers working very hard to create, probably remembering what she was doing at that point in her life when she wrote it and the particulars as to the effort involved. The courts may rule that the “synthesis” is transformative, but SVA is not winning any victories for fair use, he is more setting an example of how one can cash in on something with just a fraction of the talent and effort of the original creator. He is like a George Washington for slackers.

Anyway, I realize loads of people vehemently disagree with me, but this is why I feel the way I do about the two sides.

My first thought was also “The judged said they books were gibberish. What a dumb* “, but then I thought that while I got “sucked” into PS straight away some people just didn’t. Fantasy is not for everyone.

Last week I tried to read The Giver after reading about it on here but I just could not get into it. It wasn’t gibberish but it just wasn’t for me.

HP can be “extremely complex” to some people but isn’t that a good thing. That person will then pick up a dictionary or encyclopaedia and learn more.

If fantasy isn’t your thing and you find it hard to follow, looking things up will only take you out of the story every time you look something up. If fantasy isn’t your thing, then don’t read it. That’s how I see It.

If there was a settlement, would that include that the Lexicon can be published but with many corrections and revisions? If that is the case, they should resort to citing the text phrase by phrase properly and calling it an unofficial guide. No way am I will be buying that book since there are numerous resources online that can accompany the reference needed. The HPL is not the only online encyclopedia out there. The reason why I would buy “the Scottish book” is to read about more backstories and explanations written by the HP author herself. I would not depend on facts rehashed by SVA since there are factual errors in the site itself.

It is a shame indeed that it has all been brought to this. I agree that I would really want to hear takes from other famous authors out there such as Stephen King and see how he would handle this situation as well. So far the reports see Jo as the monster, Goliath and SVA as the little innocent victim, David. So sad!

Ah Melissa… How I wish you (and I’ll bet I’m not alone) were still taking notes and giving us the rundown on proceedings. You can put all this in a context relative to what fans want to know, not what will sell newspapers or increase audience size. BBC, WSJ et al don’t tell all. They tell us a titillating part.

I just hope the judge will see it our way.

OMT

I honestly think the judge made the remark about finding the first book confusing as small talk in between the trial examinations etc. Even though, I find this judge asking too many questions that appear like “cross examination” on JK/WB, (Elizabeth kindly corrects me that is not the case) I have faith that the judge will be fair as possible as far as this completed law allows him to.

Btw A cheer to Elizabeth who has been quite the heroine on these comment boards, straightening out our legal naivities with some pretty indepth explanations without patronising. Thanks Elizabeth.

OK, now lets continue bashing SVA and the judge….just kidding.

“So far the reports see Jo as the monster, Goliath and SVA as the little innocent victim, David. So sad!”

- It’s because they don’t know Jo the way we do. They don’t realize that she doesn’t try to stop everything or everybody.

Yes I’m another who would love to hear Stepehn King’s opinion. But I bet he is wanting to remain quiet, for the moment. Perhaps he will give his thoughts once a judgement has been made.

It should be noted that they likely choose a judge who wasent a fan of the books for the obvious reason that it would be unfair if the judge was a fan. a judge can not have a personal view of the case, he has to be impartial and give the law its chance. i dont feel worried about him cause he didnt rather enjoy the first harry potter book, but i definatly do not think it will ultimately matter. the encylopedia, having read a great chunk of it, can do nothing to help people get used to the names. thats not a issue. seeing as 91% of it apperently is simply jk rowling’s own words.

Reading all your comments over the last few months, I feel that WB should have allowed publication! How many of you would ever have heard of this book if it wasn’t for the court case. I know that I wouldn’t, also I would n’t buy it not because of some great JKR worship (sorry I know this is the wrong word) but because I like my H.P. to come from JKR. If this book had been published without WB contesting it would not have sold nearly as many copies as it will if the court case goes thier way. We should all be allowed to enjoy the Harry Potter experince in our own way and if the Lexicon helps by bringing out a book so be it. Both W.B. and J.K.R. have in the past praised and used the Lexicon site. I only found it through J.K.R’s site and through that the L.C.