RDR Books Files Notice of Appeal

As we reported in September, Judge Robert Patterson ruled in favor of J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers in the copyright case against RDR Books, publisher of the book version of the Harry Potter Lexicon website. RDR Books has now officially filed a notice of appeal. An actual appeal will follow.

Court Refuses to Hear Appeal on J.K. Rowling Photo Privacy Case

A court in the UK has refused to hear an appeal filed by Big Pictures LTD in regards to a case involving a photo of the young child of author J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter author and her husband Dr. Neil Murray had won an appeal in May of the case they brought seeking to protect the privacy of their children, in specific photos of their young son that were published in a UK paper seveContinued...

Followup: Indian Court Rules Against WB in "Hari Puttar" Case

A followup today regarding Warner Brothers and a legal case they had brought, seeking to stop the release of a film from India called “Hari Puttar.” The BBC is reporting the High Court in Delhi, India has rejected the suit filed by WB, saying “Warner Bros could have brought the case three years ago and said readers could easily distinguish Hari Puttar from Harry Potter. Mirchi Movies,

JKR/WB vs RDR Books Trial: An Appeal to be Filed

An update for you this morning on the ongoing trial between WB/JKR vs.RDR Books. The Detroit Free Press is reporting an appeal is expected to be filed this week in this matter. The paper reports:

Roger Rapoport, a Muskegon publisher, and Steve Vander Ark, a Grand Rapids area librarian and author, expect their attorneys this week to file a notice of appeal preserving the men’s right to

JKR/WB vs RDR Books Trial: Statements Regarding Ruling

Since the opinion earlier today in which Judge Patterson ruled in favor of J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, the following statements have been issued.

From J.K. Rowling:

“I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favourably. I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work. The cou

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: JKR Wins Copyright Case

News sources are reporting that the judge in the case of J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers vs. RDR Books has issued a ruling. From WNBC NY:

“The small publisher was not contesting that the lexicon infringes upon Rowling’s copyright but argued that it was a fair use allowable by law for reference books. In his ruling, Patterson noted that reference materials are generally useful to the p

WB Files Suit Over "Hari Puttar" Film Title In India

The BBC is reporting that Warner Bros. has filed suit against a film company in India for infringing on intellectual property rights in titling an upcoming movie: “Hari Puttar – A Comedy Of Terrors.” A spokesperson confirmed that a lawsuit was filed against Mirchi Movies and is expected to be heard before the Bombay High Court. According to the article, WB felt the title was ‘too sim

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law (pt 2)

This post is part two of our post from earlier today, and includes our summary of the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law presented by JKR/WB in this PDF.

Please see the prior post for Editor’s Notes. In addition, please also note that the JKR/WB document is considerably longer that the RDR Books document. In an effort to bring the summary down to a manageable length, on several oc

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law (pt 1)

We now have available at Leaky the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law documents from both Plaintiffs JKR/WB and Defendant RDR Books. These documents offer each side’s analysis of the trial and opinion on how it should conclude. The documents are in PDF format and total 10MB/200 pages.

RDR Books’ Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (> 1 MB/55 pages)

JKR/WB’s Findings of Fact a

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Tim Wu Leads Panel at Copyright Conference, Discusses Fan Response to Vander Ark

Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu led a panel May 1st at OnCopyright 2008, a conference hosted by the Copyright Clearance Center. The panel focused on the JKR/WB vs RDR Books lawsuit, and more particularly on the response Harry Potter fans have had to Steve Vander Ark since it was announced the HP Lexicon would be produced in book format. From a summary on the conference at EContent Magaz

Followup: JK Rowling Wins Appeal on Child Photo Privacy Case

Previously we told you of a legal matter involving author J.K. Rowling and photographs of her young 18 month old son that were published in a UK paper several years ago. In effort to protect their privacy of their young children, the case went to court, and today Jo and her husband Dr. Neil Murray won an appeal that would ban further publication of photographs. According to the BBC, th

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: "Fan Feud", from The New Yorker

Tim Wu in an article for The New Yorker looks at the events leading up to the trial, speaks to Steve Vander Ark, and compares J.K. Rowling to the mythical Athena:

“Once upon a time, a talented weaver named Arachne declared herself superior in skill to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who also invented weaving. Whether Arachne was actually better we’ll never know, for Athena, in a jealous

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Chicago Tribune article

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

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Opinions

Several public figures have voiced their opinions on the JKR/WB vs. RDR Books court case:

Hugo and Nebula award-winning writer Orson Scott Card claims that J.K. Rowling’s “hypocrisy is so thick” that he “can hardly breathe”.

He goes on to say:

“Once you publish fiction, Ms. Rowling, anybody is free to write about it, to comment on it, and to quote liberally from it, as long as the sour

JKR/WB vs. RDR Books Trial: Complete Transcripts

We now have the transcripts of the trial, courtesy of Stanford Law School.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3