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Monday, April 14, 2008
Rowling to Testify Against Harry Potter Lexicon
New York Times: "J. K. Rowling’s public appearances usually take place in bookstores and theaters, before thousands of her fans. But on Monday, Ms. Rowling, the author of the wildly popular Harry Potter series, is expected to turn up in a much different place: on the witness stand in a Lower Manhattan federal courtroom, testifying against a small publisher looking to bring out an encyclopedia based on her work."
"Ms. Rowling said the proposed Lexicon book flouted her plans to write her own encyclopedia and donate the proceeds to charity. She argues that Mr. Vander Ark’s book could deter fans from buying hers."
ReplyDeleteThat's a fairly blatant statement that emphasizes why Rowling is out of line in her argument. Just because she plans to give her proceeds from her own encyclopedia to charity doesn't give her the right to eliminate the possibility of competition. If she allows/encourages the same information to be available on the internet (where advertisements are abound, and money exchanges are occurring) then why is she contesting the same information in a tactile form? I fully support her rights to her creative ideas, but the woman likes to play dirty in situations like these. Not to mention Warner Brothers is a pretty intimidating partner of Rowling's.
On a removed level, it brings up great discussions of free web-based content and the more clearly defined copyright laws of books.
It's sad, because Rowling's fans are so dedicated and interested in everything that she publishes and she's kind of bashing them for it. I think that the existanace of a Harry Potter Lexicon encyclopedia wouldn't decrease the profits of a branded one from Rowling anyway, so what's the big deal? Too many big companies think they can abuse their fans and get away with it.
ReplyDeleteHow accurate is the fan lexicon? You'd think Rowling would have no problem with it, as if she was any kind of decent person, she'd give additional content in these new books.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter fans are so freaking terrifying, they'd probably buy anything by her. She's probably lashing out at the fansite because her new dictionary has nothing new in it, and it's pretty similar to the lexicon online.
Mrs. Rowling has more money than the queen of England. She has no need to attack a book about her fictional characters. It is quite funny however that she did not have a problem with the website until it decided to create a book at which point Mrs. Rowling realized they could actually make some money so she decided to sue them. Personally I think that woman needs to take a step back and relax. She has all the money she needs and Harry Potter is much bigger than a book. Therefore there should not be so many problems with copyright for it.
ReplyDeleteI think I am the only person who feels that she is justified in taking this action. An unofficial version of this encyclopedia would possibly deter people from buying her version, but it definitely would confuse people about which version they should be buying. The fact that she allows the website probably just shows that she is oblivious to the amount of money a website could make, and the book would probably make more.
ReplyDelete