Best-selling author J.K. Rowling will be on the witness stand today in a Lower Manhattan courtroom, testifying against a publisher that wants to publish an encyclopedia based on her Harry Potter novels reports the New York Times.
Rowling will testify against RDR Books, a small publisher in Michigan that wants to publish a print edition of the popular web-site “The Harry Potter Lexicon.” Rowling has been supportive of the many Potter-related web-sites that offer databases about her popular novels and universe. But when news that a print-form of the web-site was announced Rowling and Warner Brothers, who owns the rights to Potter on the big-screen, sued for copyright infringement.  Their objection is that the book merely repackages Rowling’s work and, unlike the free fan sites, is intended to make money for its publisher.
In court papers Ms. Rowling and Warner Brothers have argued that the Lexicon, which is being written by the Web site’s founder, Steven Vander Ark, and three other writers, “merely compiles and repackages Ms. Rowling’s fictional facts derived wholesale from the Harry Potter works without adding any new creativity, commentary, insight or criticism.†(Mr. Vander Ark is not a party to the suit.)
Rowling says the potential publication of this book could negatively impact her plans to write her own Potter encyclopedia. The author has stated she would like to create such a resource and contribute the profits from sales to charity.
RDR planned to print 10,000 copies of the book for initial publication run. The company’s response to the suit states the book “provides a significant amount of original analysis and commentary concerning everything from insights into the personality of key characters, relationships among them, the meaning of various historical and literary allusions, as well as internal inconsistencies and mistakes in the novels.â€
This case could set a precedent and will have observers around the world watching the testimony and decision.
Leave a Reply