J.K. Rowling is suing a fan for writing a Harry Potter lexicon. Rowling had expressed her own desires to print a Harry Potter encyclopedia that could take more than ten years to write, planning to donate all the proceeds to charity. Today is her final day of testimony in a New York court against Steve Vander Ark and his Harry Potter Lexicon.
I think it’s great that we have protections for writers and artists in place so that their hard work can’t be stolen. What I think is shameful is abusing those protections when your entire ouvre is stolen from someone else. If you enjoy Harry Potter, you might enjoy Rowling’s source material called The Books of Magic, written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics in 1990. The Books of Magic tell the tale of a boy with a less than stellar home life who suddenly discovers he’s a wizard, maybe the most powerful wizard of all time. Sound familiar?
Fan created guides are no threat to your intellectual property and bringing lawsuits against fans is a good way to get labeled a “bitch”. Bringing lawsuits for copyright violations when every idea you have ever had was lifted from someone you’re not even fit to share the same job title with is an even better way.
