Rowling Says Potter Encyclopedia Infringes Copyright
Submitted by mwilliams on Thu, 2007-11-01 20:08.The owner of the Harry Potter Lexicon fan site is publishing an unofficial encyclopedic companion to the Harry Potter series based on the site and bearing the site’s name. Rowling is suing the publisher. She reserves the right to publish such a book herself. The publisher is undaunted, and the book will appear as scheduled.
If you had a Wordsy account you could comment on this story. Get an account now!
She'll have a hard time with that here.
Rat's Reading - http://reading.kingrat.biz/
Greedy bitch! First the Indian castle and now this!
Perhaps trademark infringement would be a possible thing to sue them for but why the aggression against her own fans?
She's certainly sending out a strong message here...don't mess with the kingdom of all-powerful Rowling. But she's trying for the sympathy spin, saying that her book would be written for charity, while the other fellow's book will benefit only him. Meh.
There is no thief like a bad book
--Italian Proverb
Here's some commentary by William Patry, a leading copyright lawyer in the U.S. He used to work for Creative Commons and now I believe he's the in-house copyright counsel for Google.
http://williampatry.blogspot.com/2007/11/harry-potter-lexicon-suit.html
I haven't spent a lot of time on the site and so don't know if there is other material that might be infringing, but I don't see how a list of spells with this type of commentary is anything other than fair use. The closest recent case remotely on point is Castle Rock Entertainment v. Carol Publishing Group, 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998), involving the S(einfeld) A(ptitude) T(est). That work was of a very different sort though, and I doubt the Second Circuit would come out the same way today.
Rat's Reading - http://reading.kingrat.biz/
The only way it could be infringing would be the use of the name/product/concept "Harry Potter" since it might be a registered trademark.
Well,
Having a few thing out there myself I could see how it would be annoying to see others selling and profiting on your ideas (Thus your work) But when you have a mega machine as the potter series is they are certain concessions one must give to the process of making a giant like that. you are going to get rip off here and there along the way.
But she seems very tight with that series. Remember the true salt of an author is not can she/he write one good story, but can he/she write many.
Click Here to Check out Lucien's Entire collection