U.K. Publisher Methuen does not expect to meet the scheduled April release of Steve Vander Ark’s Lexicon book, as it has been postponed pending the court’s decision.
Peter Tummons or Methuen says he is “very confident” in RDR Book’s position, but says that he does expect Warner Brothers to appeal if RDR wins. Says Tummons:
“You can never quite tell about the US appeal system, but I think we are talking about a matter of some months. Eventually, I think we will be able to publish this autumn, which might turn out to be quite good timing for us.”
Tummons would not comment on what his company might do should RD lose the case.
I was just listening to the pod cast about the trial and wanted to make a couple of comments.
First, I believe that the mispronunciation of characters names was intentional. This would make JK and her books seem less important. He was attempting to convey that her work has not infiltrated the collective conscious of the world much less the US or the UK. Basically to bring her down a few pegs.
Second, I agree with John that if you are a true fan that you do not steal from
an author and/or a body of work that you claim to love so much. His law suit
will be a moot point in the essence that his book will not sell nor gain true
notoriety, The broader implication for authors is what is of ultimate importantance in this case.
tonya – i’m pretty sure ‘mr. hammer’ misprounonced the names unintentionally. along with being delusional, appearantly he doesn’t read much.
but, i see your point. it would be hard to make all the mistakes he did. i mean, draco? easiest name ever.
I certainly hope the court allows The Lexicon to be published as planned. I am losing respect for JKR going ahead with this lawsuit. I expect WB to be low-lifes who are only interested in making a buck, but thought JKR was better than that. Printing The HP Lexicon does her no harm and actually promotes her intrests.
The Lexicon is is a tribute to her and her accomplishments, will make absolutely zero impact on the encyclopedia she plans on creating, and is available NOW (it’s called marketing and cheap advertising to keep the intrest high in HP). It doesn’t infringe on her copyrights, and I have no problem for Steve to make a little money from all the work he’s put into it collecting and categorizing the details from JKR’s books.
Another thing to think about – if RDR/Steve loses, then any of us who like to write fan fiction, ot make comments in forums (like here), about anything HP will also no longer be allowed to do that. If they can force one fan to not express their delight in Potter, thgey can do it to all of us.
It is a short-sighted and mean-spirited lawsuit. Vander Ark should be allowed to print his lexicon. All the lexicons built around other books and authors are perfectly legal, and this one should be, too.
McGonagall’s Cat: the issue is not whether it is a tribute to Jo or if it promotes her interests or whether it makes money or anything else. It is a work of plagiarism and Jo and WB have not only a right but a duty to protect that copyrighted work. A win for Jo is a win for all creative people who seek to protect their own work, the work they have slaved over. Why should anyone be allowed to make money off of Jo’s hard work just because they are capable of copy and pasting her work into a new format?
Additionally, a win for Jo will NOT affect fanfic, wizard rock or other web sites. She has been an amazing supporter of creative endeavors based on HP online, which are free to access. Copyright prohibits people from making money from plagiarizing other people’s work. That is all.
If you had spent more than 17 years of your life on a project of the magnitude of Harry Potter, (or, what the heck, six months of your life on one smallish novel) would you want some “fan” to come along, paste it into an alphabetical format and be allowed to sell it as his own? I think not. If Steve and RDR win this case there could come a time when they will be able to sue JO for publishing her own encyclopedia, as they could make the case that she plagiarized from them for some of the content… which was all based on her own work! If you have been to the Lexicon online, I am sure you have seen the page after page of warnings from Steve not to copy anything from his site because it is “copyrighted.” It staggers the mind.
@younger granger: I understand yours( and many others) desire to see RDR suffer through a long trial and lose lots of money and whatnot, but I don’t want to see Jo go through that.
She’s already saying that the trial is destroying her creative mind, whether that’s a sort of threat or not, I’m not sure. But I am sure I wouldn’t want to lose the Scottish Book over the loss of some money from RDR.
Like most I just wish this had never started, I still have some respect for SVA, and wouldn’t hold a grudge for him no matter how the case ended.
Ugh, i am hoping Jo will win and from what it sounds like she will, but you never know… I want to feel sorry for Steve, but i can’t…
Posted by LoonyLunaLovegoodLover on April 25, 2008, 03:45 AM
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No matter who wins I will only buy the one writen by JKR. It is her books, characters, and world….. Only she deserves my hard earned money when it comes to Harry Potter!!!
It he rewrote it and used cited his sources properly it wouldn’t be such a big deal… (which i think he should do right away and i would tell any of my students that. yes page numbers are to be used not only when using quotes but paraphrasing as well….either that or my English professors will have have a ballistic fit)
I think she is perfectly in the right to do what she’s doing… Content of the book aside. Not citing sources properly is setting a bad example to the students who would be reading his book as a reference. I say, call it a rough draft and go back… add some new work…perhaps some pictures of wolves and flora and fauna that is mentioned in the books… add some extra resources for credibility and a polite nod to show that others have gone before you. a few apoligies in the form of a gentle limrick would be lovely as well. anything to make Jo smile.
I agree with the Leaky crew when they said that you are not a true HP fan if you insist on doing something that your “Idol” has already asked nicely not to do. I do not feel a bit sorry for SVA, no matter what the outcome of the trial will be. This issue will have a HUGE impact on his credibility as an “HP Fan” but now, he’s basically banished from the fandom.
I wouldn’t spend a single hard-earned penny on his book. I will save that money and buy the REAL scottish book, may it be 1 or 100, I wouldn’t mind spending that much.. because I know the proceeds will go to charity, and not someone’s stinky pocket.
I work in a bookstore….. if it does get published…. it will be lovingly placed in my collage of dvds and random book diplay. covered in bunnies of bears never to be heard from again. No one dares mess with my displays and mess up the integrity of my design (or steal my quill) well that is my game plan. (just had a random vision of librarians and teachers shaking their fingers and randomly dancing in the streets West Side Story style. snap snap…finger wave…finger wave.)
it sickens me that SVA used to claim to be a ravenclaw… I always felt ravenclaw was the house i was most akin to. he has turned into a stereotypical slytherin , though no offence ment to john noe, he is a cool slyty.
McGonagall’s Cat: Not meaning to be rude, but have you been following the trial at all? I mean, I have nothing personal against Steve, but anyone who claims to have written a ‘comprehensive guide’ that is only 9% of original work shouldn’t be able to call themselves a writer. Or a potter fan. If Jo says its sloppy lazy and incorrect, I believe her.
Its not as if this is for money. She’s trying to make it so that Comic Relief won’t make less money from her book. I’d rather people’s money towards a good cause that Steve pocket.
If this does go to print, I’ll be going to all the bookstores in my area and hide the Lexicon behind the wonderful displays of ‘Rainbow Party’ and ‘Gossip Girl’. Where it belongs.
"You couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you, Hermione?" said Ron angrily as the kitchen door slammed shut behind them. "They won't want us visiting them now! We could've tried to get more stuff out of Winky about Crouch!"[br]"Oh as if you care about tha
I was just listening to the pod cast about the trial and wanted to make a couple of comments. First, I believe that the mispronunciation of characters names was intentional. This would make JK and her books seem less important. He was attempting to convey that her work has not infiltrated the collective conscious of the world much less the US or the UK. Basically to bring her down a few pegs. Second, I agree with John that if you are a true fan that you do not steal from an author and/or a body of work that you claim to love so much. His law suit will be a moot point in the essence that his book will not sell nor gain true notoriety, The broader implication for authors is what is of ultimate importantance in this case.