RDR, Warner and JK Rowling head to court on March 24th to try and settle the HP Lexicon issue, according to the Guardian. Fingers crossed for RDR but methinks there is an awful lot of miscommunication and spin. As John Craice writes, whoever loses will appeal but I suspect that the ultimate loser will be the fans and communities who decide to create these sites.
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No, that will only happen if RDR wins, because it means that copyright owners everywhere will have to start clamping down on the rampant but free and fun infringement fans do online. RDR will have basically proved legally that if it’s allowed on the Web, you should be allowed to SELL it. So what will copyright owners do? Start clamping down on their infringement on the Web.
If JKR/WB win, nothing changes. Clear, intense infringements such as the Lexicon book – which uses only the Harry Potter books to make an encyclopedia, never cites anything, and is ONLY a condensation and rearrangement of her work – will still be, as they were before the suit, illegal, and everyone can go about their business.
RDR and Steve Vander Ark are fine with destroying all fan communities online just to win. It’s disgusting.
The Complaint and the Answer are available online. Mr Vander Ark claimed in his court declaration that he owned the website hp-lexicon.org, but then why is it registered in the name of Melissa Anelli and Leaky Inc? He claimed to be the author of the Lexicon book, but then admitted that others account for almost half the book. How then did he think he had the right to sign a book contract without consulting these people? Half the entries in the book are taken verbatim from JK Rowling’s books. This isn’t a case of Fair Use, it’s a case of blatant infringement. The website is a free fan site compiled by many volunteers. The book is for profit and has only one man’s name on it. The book isn’t scholarly. It doesn’t have proper citations. And it offers no analysis or commentary. If you don’t think so, check out the online submissions on Justia, one can read the entire book there. (BTW, the Guardian commentator’s name is CRACE.)
You can look up the ownership of the hp-lexicon’s URL. You can also read on hp-lexicon’s What’s New the fact that Leaky Inc has been paying the cost of running the Lexicon for the past four years. And, if Vander Ark’s staff is behind him 100%, why has not one of them spoken up in his favour since October 31?