The Chicago Tribune speaks to Roger Rapoport of RDR Books, the publishing company that is involved in a legal battle against JK Rowling and Warner Brothers over the rights to publish a book version of the HP Lexicon website.
Not a Potter fan, Mr. Rapoport was unfamiliar with the Lexicon website until he saw a newspaper profile on Vander Ark in July 2007.
“I couldn’t understand why this book hadn’t been published yet,” he said.
Rapoport is reportedly unworried about the outcome of the trial, having been told by his attorneys that “no court has ever ruled that the writer of a fictional work is the only person who can write about that book.”
According to the article, Rapoport’s has received free legal help from Stanford University Law School’s Fair Use Project. Donations to his Right to Write Foundation (formed, according to its mission statement, as “an educational repository and clearinghouse for the 21st century freedom of expression and “fair use” issues writers and publishers encounter when moving between the worlds of print, internet, film, the fine arts and new media”) have further offset costs.
Rapoport was asked about JKR’s statement from the stand of “I never ever once wanted to stop Mr. Vander Ark from doing his own guide, never ever. Do your book, but, please, change it so it does not take as much of my work.”
””That opportunity was never presented to us,” he said, his eyes flashing with anger. “The only thing they said [in the lawyer letters and pretrial discussions] was: ‘Will you stop the book?’”
Tribune article author Patrick Reardon also speaks to Steve Vander Ark, creator of the Lexicon site and main author of the Lexicon book.
“During a telephone interview from London, where he moved earlier this year to write other Potter-related books, Vander Ark said he was “devastated” when Rowling’s lawsuit was filed against RDR books, even though he wasn’t named as a defendant. “We certainly had no intention of doing something which would hurt her feelings,” Vander Ark said.”
The article reports that Vander Ark has received “nasty emails” since the lawsuit became public.
“It was disheartening how quickly people were more than happy to turn on me,” Vander Ark said.
ugh this sickens me, and i cannot understand how they can support this theft
I dont know who would buy the lexicon, i mean if it is’nt written by Jo, who would want to buy and read a rip off ?
I just hope that sva finally grows up and learns some sense, because this was clearly a stupid choice made by him. Maybe he already knows it and is trying not too look to ignorant of what he could and could not do in terms of copyrigths.
Sva, this will definately come and bite you in the backside – oh wait, it ALREADY did !
I just expected better from a man who clearly has a big love for books and writing.
I’d just like to know what Sva would have done if someone decided to publish a lexicon, and copying everything without his consent. I dont think he would have sat on his backside saying ’’Oh well, too bad i cannot object, since they allowed people to do this…’‘
If the lexicon does come out, anyone want to make a lexicon of the lexicon? Or how about just copy page by page and get it copyrighted? ;)
I can’t stand Rapoport. At this point I don’t have much love for SVA, but after reading Rapoport’s testimony, his is extremely refreshing. And by the way, does RDR stand for his name?
Yes, I recall reading that Borders and Barnes & Noble have decided not to sell the Lexicon, because of the lawsuit. I think that’s going to extremely hurt the sale of the book.
Another big bookseller is Amazon.com, but I haven’t heard whether Amazon intends to sell the Lexicon. But if Amazon pulls out as well, then the Lexicon will have a very hard time making a profit.
RDR just keeps digging itself a bigger and bigger sinkhole. All of this could’ve been avoided if RDR had just ceased and desisted with the book when WB/Jo asked repeatedly for RDR to do so.
From the article: “Throughout the trial, the judge urged the two sides to settle the case rather than force him to rule in what he described as a ‘murky’ area of the law.”
I think BOTH sides are two parts stubborn and one part crazy (obsessive.)
Leaky is the only voice of truth! All other media is full of lying, evil journalists who are jealous!!!! We are the only ones who know the truth! Everyone else is lying! If the judge rules against Jo, it just proves that he’s jealous too! He probably wishes he was as wonderful and rich as Jo. Because veryone wishes they were like Jo. There is simply no other motivation for the behavior of anyone who doesn’t do exactly what Jo wants. Anyone who does anything Jo doesn’t like is bad and wrong and jealous.
You know, I don’t like the idea of this book going to print. But at the same time, I think it’s disgusting that people sent Steve nasty, hate-filled e-mails. It’s alright to disagree with him, and send an e-mail asking why he wants to do what he’s doing, but sending one that’s nasty is WRONG.
I am amazed at the namecalling from the RDR side and the characterization that anyone arguing JKR’s side is brainwashed (e.g., see post by “aloyalsheep” above). I’m still waiting (on more than just this site) for anyone on the RDR side to counter legal arguments, but all I get is namecalling.
Note to “aloyalsheep”: Whether or not someone admires JKR has nothing to do with the validity of their arguments. I’ll just take your lack of any legal argument as evidence that you don’t have one.
I hope so strongly that JKR loses this suit. She and her lawyers are running a campaign of intimidation and bullying. The transcripts make that clear. Gods bless Vander Ark for having the courage to stand up to her.
I used to admire JKR deeply but have lost a great deal of respect for her in recent months. About the time the series ended, something ugly happened to her personality. Perhaps Orson Scott Card is right; perhaps now that her series is up she’s at loose ends and it puts her in a bad mood. I don’t know. But her behaviour is atrocious. She was thoroughly obnoxious with interviewers in Toronto and is being thoroughly obnoxious with Vander Ark’s lawyer (Hammer, who is unfailingly polite in the face of her sarcasm and bitchiness.)
Note to the sycophants: added analysis is not required for fair use. Stop mindlessly regurgitating everything JKR says. She likes to talk about how much work she put into her books; well, Vander Ark and co. put in a huge amount of work themselves. They gave us a coherent timeline, something JKR never did, as evidenced by the times she contradicted herself. JKR claims that all they did was take dates out of her books, but that’s nonsense. The dates were not there. They calculated and logically worked out the dates themselves, and yes, it is a vast and impressive and USEFULL piece of work. Of which the public should not be deprived.
Note to “aloyalsheep”: Whether or not someone admires JKR has nothing to do with the validity of their arguments. I’ll just take your lack of any legal argument as evidence that you don’t have one.
Why do I need a legal argument? I’m not a lawyer, and I’m not party to this case. I don’t need to give you legal arguments; RDR’s lawyers provided their legal arguments to the judge, who is the only person with an opinion that truly matters in this case.
My point has nothing to do with which side has the best legal case. I won’t pretend to understand legal concepts about which I truly have no clue.
My point is that ANYONE who dares to say ANYTHING that is not unequivocally in support of Rowling is deemed “jealous”, “uninformed,” “ignorant” and just plain mean.
The notion that all these people – Ken Jennings, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, countless journalists from newspapers in the UK and American – that every single one of them is simply motivated by jealousy and engaged in some sort of personal campaign against Rowling—that’s just ludicrous.
You are absolutely correct that the opinions of the worshippers are no more or less valid than the opinions of the blasphemers. That is not, however, the way said blasphemers have been treated on this site. One only has to look at the comments in reference to any of the articles about the case that were remotely negative.
As for being brainwashed – I’ve read plenty of comments here and in the lounge from people insisting that oh no – their adoration of Jo has nothing to do with the fact that they support her 110% and think Steve Vander Ark is the antiChrist. They have arrived at their conclusion through a thorough researching of the case (amazing how many overnight copyright experts we have around here). Meanwhile, the most commonly leveled blow against Vanderark is that he is not a “true fan.” As in “a true fan would have stopped publication the nanosecond Jo asked him to.”
And yes, thinking that true fans obey the word of their goddess instantly and without question does indeed make you a sheep.
@ desertwind: I’m with you here. I’m on Jo’s side as a creative artist, but it irks me that that makes me on WB’s side. (THEY’VE gone after fansites themselves before, actually).
I think this is actually a horrible case! I don’t see why SVA/RDR didn’t just do the decent thing and pull out or change the Lexicon when asked to do so by the original author. But I do also not think that the Lexicon, as it is, would really damage JKR in any way, let alone her Encyclopaedia-to-come. Some people find an alphabetical ordering of content useful. Personally I never needed it, or found it particularly useful when I browsed, but other people did and do, and though I am on JKR’s side, I don’t see why this case had to come up in the first place. It could have been a matter of quotation marks, for heaven’s sake. Why didn’t they change it? Why did it all get so damn HUGE?
Everytime I see the word “sycophant” it is so obvious where the rant is going. A great many posters here are well read, educated, intelligent people that have researched the court documents provided, analyzed them, discussed them and come to their own conclusions. You may not agree with them but it doesn’t mean their opinions have no value.
“My point is that ANYONE who dares to say ANYTHING that is not unequivocally in support of Rowling is deemed “jealous”, “uninformed,” “ignorant” and just plain mean.”
Posted by aloyalsheep on May 04, 2008 @ 07:40 PM
Really? And my point is that ANYONE who dares to say ANYTHING that is in the least in support of JKR/WB’s position is deemed “cultist,” “brainwashed,” “sycophantic,” and just plain stupid.
Boo-hoo!!! I feel so bad for those people who are calling me names. I stick to the legal arguments to avoid this pointless tit-for-tat. But you go ahead, I’m sorry I interrupted you.
Pathetic. JKR must win this trial if any decency is left in USA. And if she loses, I hope she sues the author of the book for plagiarism after it’s published.
Tyler, let’s get real. Your legal arguments are as pointless as my namecalling. A few leakyloungers spend the afternoon Googling “Fair use” and suddenly everyone’s a copyright expert.
Does anyone really think that the judge in this case is feverishly consulting this site in order to get a grasp on the finer issues of the case?
I don’t care who wins the lawsuit. I have no intentions of buying SVA’s book (if it is published) or Rowling’s book.
Let the lawyers and the judges hash out the illegalities. The HP fandom is making a massive, collective fool of itself.
ugh this sickens me, and i cannot understand how they can support this theft
I dont know who would buy the lexicon, i mean if it is’nt written by Jo, who would want to buy and read a rip off ? I just hope that sva finally grows up and learns some sense, because this was clearly a stupid choice made by him. Maybe he already knows it and is trying not too look to ignorant of what he could and could not do in terms of copyrigths. Sva, this will definately come and bite you in the backside – oh wait, it ALREADY did ! I just expected better from a man who clearly has a big love for books and writing.
I’d just like to know what Sva would have done if someone decided to publish a lexicon, and copying everything without his consent. I dont think he would have sat on his backside saying ’’Oh well, too bad i cannot object, since they allowed people to do this…’‘
If the lexicon does come out, anyone want to make a lexicon of the lexicon? Or how about just copy page by page and get it copyrighted? ;)
This is just too stupid its getting too sad.