Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Rowling Sues Harry Potter Lexicon

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-first-rule-of-potter-is-you-don't-talk-about-potter dept.

Snape kills Trinity with Rosebud writes "Apparently famous authors don't like it if you try to make a buck using their imaginary property because J.K. Rowling is suing the publishers of the Harry Potter Lexicon for infringement. This should prove an interesting test case for fair use given that the lexicon contains mostly factual information about the series, not copies of the books' text. Of course, both sides seem a bit touchy about imaginary property rights, with Rowling's lawyers being miffed after being told to print it themselves when they asked for a paper copy of the lexicon's website, and the lexicon website itself using one of those insipid right click disabling scripts."

4 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. Re:well that's funny by burne · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you read on and visit Rowling's site you will notice something. The story is quite different from what the grandfather-post suggests. Rowling has been helping the lexicon so for. But now the makers of the lexicon intend to make money by publishing a book, and that is where Rowling has to draw the line. She's happy helping fans, but selling books based on her work is a bridge to far.

    I take no pleasure in the fact that publication has been prevented for the present. On the contrary, I feel massively disappointed that this matter had to come to court at all. Despite repeated requests, the publishers have refused to even countenance making any changes to the book to ensure that it does not infringe my rights. (source

  2. Re:Out of creative juice.. become an IP vulture. by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Informative
    You are legally required to aggressively defend your IPR, otherwise you lose it. Hate the game, not the playa.

    No, you are not. This is a common misconception. It applies, if at all, only to trademarks ("Kleenex". "Xerox"), not copyright (this case).

  3. Re:Out of creative juice.. become an IP vulture. by tmk · · Score: 4, Informative

    You are legally required to aggressively defend your IPR, otherwise you lose it. Hate the game, not the playa.
    That is a common error. You don't loose rights when you refuse to sue people. A few weeks ago I read a story about someone who did a parody of a website, he used logos and design which are clearly copyrighted. And what happened? The company did not sue the author, they gave him a license for his parody. They did not lose any intellectual property, the did not pay any lawyer or court and they had free publicity. The parody was clearly no competition for them.
  4. Stallman to the rescue... by Orthuberra · · Score: 4, Informative

    No Slashdot thread is complete without RMS's opinion on the matter.