I think J.K. Rowling's is becoming a tad greedy.

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/04/21/harry.potter.lawsuit.ap/index.html

 

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Not really Mitzs - the bloke's a complete loon.

 

I've never been to the site so I have no idea about him zeb. However, she has been more then aware of him and his site. Why should she stop him now after all the work he has done? Because someone else is going to make a little bit money? People do this all the time. She has admitted to even using his site for information. Maybe he should go after her. She gave him a freaking award for petesake. I don't understand why she doesn't just work with him.

 

JKR is a money grabbing Wh*re IMHO. She sues everyone in sight for so much as mentioning H.P. without prior consent (and a whopping great fee no doubt).

Case in point: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7040191.stm

 

I think, when you've made a little industry like this she should think more like a business person ie, what can I get out of it on top of what I've already done without the effort.

One repeating thing is this encyclopaedia about Potter-land, she's taken a lot of time and effort writing the books and is now enjoying the fruits of her labour, but by getting other people to do "works", publish alternate stories, encyclopaedias, etc. she takes a cut, still makes a load of notes and has very little effort in a huge goodwill gesture to the fans - and possibly encourage others to get involved, still making her cut.

All this negative publicity, while I can't imagine it'll dent the profits from her encyclopaedia, I think its turned from being something quite fun-like to being overtaken by too much hardcore legal stuff.

No sympathy for her now.

 

I'm sorry, I seem to of stumbled upon a thread where the term capitalism seems to be misunderstood

 

Yes by her. If she didn't like what he was doing she should have stopped it ages ago. Not help to promote it then back hand him because he wants to make a living on what he has done. You don't think that is a double standard at all?

 

She didnt mind it when it was a free resource on the web, she minded when he tried to make money of it
seems pretty obvious what the issue was to me

 

I don't understand what the difference is to her if its online or in print.

 

Online it was free for all, by printing it and SELLING it he is directly making a profit off of her work, which breaks most copyright fair use exemptions to begin with

 

The charcters may be her work, but him collecting the information on them, researching them, and organizing them is his. If his users wish for it to be all in a book who is she to tell him no. Everything is find and dandy when he is doing all this for free which does benafit her and well she knows it. But as soon as he wants to make a little off his hard work she is going to kick on it? That a crock. If his users wants a book of the work he has done he should have the right to produce it just as he did the website. I really hope this comes back to bite her in her big fat greedy arse.

 

No offence Mitzs, but that is no kind of argument. Fan fiction is all well and good, but if I had written a series of books that I considered represented my talent fairly, I'd be damned if I would let somebody else freeload off of it. there is no argument here - its like downloading music for free. You can dress it up however you like in any flowery language you want "the music industry is crooked" "the artists never get any of the money from albums anyway" "all the music industry does is pay stupid amounts of money to executives" (all sentiments I agree with, BTW), but what it boils down to, in the end, is theft - plain and simple.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work

If it's an authorized derivative work then it doesn't matter. If he never had her approval to begin with though, then he's SOL. According to US copyright law anyways... in China it might be perfectly legal to make PDFs of BosonMichael's books and sell them for a profit.

Moral of story: don't let the law stop you from doing what's right. LOL

 

But it is an argument Zeb. Weather he prints it or just having it online. Don't you see what I am getting out. She can not object to it being in print when she doesn't care if it is online. But it is to late for her to yell copy right laws with the online version now since by giving the dude a award she also gave him her blessing with his work. If it is breaking copy right laws in print he has to be breaking them on his website thetoo. This is my point. Ryan is saying money is the issue here if I am understanding him right which half the time I don't. But putting all this infromation togather is his work and if his users want a book print of it instead just online he should be able to provide them with it. I don't see how she can cry foul for him putting his site into a book form.

 

Actually she is well within her right to support it and encourage it as a free resource, she can very well object to it charging
it is HER work, so he read all the books and compiled some lists, thats not research, she wrote the stuff down to begin with or he wouldn't be able to research it ffs

Mike, I'm gonna be photocopying your book and selling it now k mate? I mean, I did buy it, and spent the time photocopying it.. mmkay? ;)

 

I concur!

it's not as though the superfan did not get any benefits out of the HP saga after all how many of you have been on a set of HP as well as a spot on the DVD?
Most HP fans would be over the moon with just meeting JK Rowling.

But to make money out of someone elses work, without the writers permission.
Well is wrong!
Doesn't matter how much money she has got..
if you start believing it's OK to copyright someones work and sell it without their knowledge or permission.

Well you need your head examine

 

Funnily enough, I dont disagree that most of whats been said (although to be honest Phoenix, dont you find it a tad hypocritical that on one hand you preach about how people who dont like the business model of music will download music illegally, and that thats ok - despite the fact that its illegal under the current rules, whilst at the same time saying that to breach copyright elsewhere is immoral, and just plain wrong? Im sure I find it hypocritical!).

In this particular case, shes preventing someone from making money on her franchise. I dont particularly see whats wrong with allowing the book to be published. For a start - since it is her property, shes going to get a royalty from every sale of the book. Thats her right as the 'inventor'. Secondly, its just an 'unofficial guide'. I see plenty of series around the world (TV and books) where other publishers produce unofficial guides without issue. I just dont see the problem with it.

But even if you ignore this. JKR and her representatives ruthlessly pursue lawsuits against anyone so much as mentioning HP in a manner she doesnt like, or isnt being paid for. FFS, the link I posted is a religious festival. Its people spending a lot of money to pay homage to her work. And they sue for it? Its not like they were trying to set it up as a theme park, or claiming it was hogwarts. Its an homage during a festival.

Its just bloody ridiculous.

 

Well firstly the publishing industry and the music industry are totally seperate discussions
I have never said I disagree with copyright law, I disagree with certain ways it has been interpreted in law over the years, and the way certain industries use it as a way to profit rather than as a way to protect the rights of the artist it was designed for

that said, the publishing world will soon need the harsh wake up call the the music industry needed 10 years ago, the fact is people still want to read books, they dont want to stare at PDFs, and thats why the publishing industry will lag behind the music industry when it comes to the tipping point

the market for music distribution changed years ago, the market for books so far has not altered much
the music industry, rather than adapt (which it couldn't of done quick enough anyway) decided to sue its users/fans rather than adapt its business practices, the publishing industry has not had to change it's business practices and is in fact challenging a guy who is trying to publish copyright works, I have no quarrel with the guy setting up the website, making it freely available, dissecting information and formatting it in a way other people can easily digest is a great thing to do, trying to make money of it is wrong

in the music industry this is separated by the act of copyright infringement (which i don't give a **** about) and piracy (which I give a **** about) Piracy is the act of distributing others works, generally for profit, this is and should remain illegal, and whilst I wouldn't say what he is doing is piracy, I think the issue is that he has not obtained a license to do what he wants to do (which by the sounds of it wouldn't be granted as the publishers and JK have there own one lined up)

hope that clarifies it a bit Fergal, I know my views are not always as black and white as some would like, but there is generally considerable thought process behind them

Do I agree with fans being sued for having fan sites/gatherings/etc and promoting artists? hell no, I agree its atrocious
Do I agree with JK protecting her assets by denying the guy to go into direct competition with her by using HER IP? quite frankly yes I do

 

If it were an isolated incident, I might be tempted to side with you. But its not. JKR sues all the time. I swear sometimes it feel like shes in the papers more than the cursed McCanns, suing one person, or another group. Whilst I concurr that its her intellectual copyright, and she should control what goes out or not, she just seems to want to demand money from people left right and center. I'm half afraid to mention the brand specifically here, for fear she will sue CF for 'unauthorised use of the material' - even if it is just the name.

In the case I linked to. I understand that it falls outside what is apparently 'acceptable use', but as best I can tell, its a non-profit event, by fans, for fans, paying homage to the brand. Why did they feel the need to sue for sh*tloads of cash for something as ridiculous as that? Its just absurd, shes punishing the fans of her series, because shes not making money from it. By rights, sure they should have sought permission. But they were obviously unaware that they needed to. Why couldnt they just give the guys a public slap on the wrist and say 'Technically, you've breached out acceptable use rules, but given the circumstances, we're not going to punish this particular occassion'? No, I think JKR is in it for just one thing, and thats to line her pockets with as much gold as she can.

And dont even get me started on the ludicrous publicity stunt that is Dumbledor being gay. An act that is (by all accounts) not even hinted in the series, and as best I can tell was solely delivered (after the series conclusion) in a bid to push book sales up even further, and increase the brand profile.

 

...not necessarily, according to International Copyright Law. Plus, China is (supposedly) making efforts to curb piracy of intellectual property: link