? Does anyone know whether other writers have expressed their opinion about this? Like Stephen King or someone else who really always liked the HP series

Two British articles:

1 – The Guardian / AP: ‘Sequel court appearance for Rowling in Potter case. April 17, 2008.

2 – The Telegraph / Nigel Reynolds: ‘Judge in JK Rowling copyright trial brands Harry Potter ‘gibberish’‘ (last updated 17/04/2008); links, question, comments.

I’m with you, Sam. You’re completely right, it is “Wrong” & “Illegal”... Personally, I won’t by S.V.A.’s Lexicon either….I’m totally and utterly on J.K. Rowling’s side…Not only because I’m a Humongous fan, but because I truly believe that S.V.A. is doing something very, very wrong…

The judge clearly understands how unsettled the copyright laws are. I think he knows that a decision by him, particularly in favor of Steve and RDR, will be appealed. The law can be very strange sometimes and this case could go on for a very long time. Very Depressing.

I’ve read a lot of comments on this topic about JKR’s charity giving. I think her generosity is wonderful and she should be commended for it. And I don’t see why her prospective charitable donations should have any impact on this case. She has given so much pleasure to so many people and she’s made a lot of money as a result. In the end, how she chooses to spend her well-earned money is her business. Fortunately for a lot of people, JKR has chosen to be very generous.

After reading the news coverage it occurred to me that the judge is doing something that I don’t believe many people are picking up. This is unresolved case law which will drag through the courts for years. However if a very smart/dedicated judge plays it just right both sides will be sufficiently concerned with loosing that a reasonable compromise can be reached between the sides that will create new case law and prevent a nasty fight that will serve no ones best interest. Just a thought!

@ daddyfrog

But how can you make a compromise? It’s either, yes you can print the book, or no you can’t.

The only way a compromise could be struk is when the book DOES get published, but with some alternations or something… Meaning judge P thinks the book should be published.

“But how can you make a compromise? It’s either, yes you can print the book, or no you can’t.”

A judge normally looks at “money” as being the reason for a lawsuit . He probably cannot understand why both sides can’t just agree to payment of a royalty to the Plaintiffs by PDR. The lawyers probably have been paid more then what a fair royalty would have been.

It totally agree with you guys. I read an article in Newsday that said he had only read half of SS/PS to his grandchildren, then gave up. I mean seriously, Ireasd these when I was 5/6ish and I got it!! PLEASE! How pathetic! if he couldn’t understand the series, which has many latin based words, how does he understand law terms, which are also neavily based on latin? What a jerk. If he rules against Jo….. he will have a serious uprising on his hands. If he found it so difficult to understand he should wait for JO’S scottish book to clarify things, not SVA’s book, which is just blatent plaigerism of the books. He wouldnt even gain anything from reading it and ruling for it.

Inconsiderate Dolt!

(rant over)

Live, Love, Harry Potter!! and Jo!! and Long Live the Scottish Book!!!!

Wow! Tell us what you really think Lindsay!! ;o) I just threw that up as a thought and there is no one more inspired by JK than I – having had a momentary long distance encounter with her a few years back. i just don’t want to see a world so finely crafted that the likes of it will probably never be duplicated drug through the muck for an extended length of time.

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.