Entry tags:

entitlement, fandom: harry potter, internet lawyers, this is the wank that never ends

"I would never have thought that a print version could be judged differently"
At the risk of being banished to hp_cornfield, but since we are up to six ETAs on the last entry... Steve Vander Ark speaks.

Everyone here at the Lexicon, all volunteers, regrets the unpleasantness.

All of them?

No comments yet, but they are still enabled. Comments and entitlement galore, but also a surprising amount of common sense! (And now at least one accusation of sockpuppetry.) (And now we have Godwin's.) Please remember: no furbashing trolling. (Thanks to dreamworld.)

ETA 1: The Lexicon statement's hit the Leaky Cauldron. My favorite comments so far:

Ashes: In my mind the lexicon is much more similar to a scientific paper then a work of fiction, a critique, or a ‘rearangement’ of JKR’s books charactors and plot.

lolz: If I had to write a paper in school on any book, ANY book EVER published, and handed in something similar to what’s on the Lexicon, I. WOULD. FAIL.

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liz: Screw you HP World Stealing Steve!

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huh: Wait…wait.

Wait.

He put up a statement…

...AND A PRE-ORDER LINK???

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ETA 2: Shenanigans! Jessica at Q for Quack alleges that Steve Vander Ark knew an encyclopedia/lexicon could not legally be published because he dissuaded her from doing so. (Thanks to lidane.)

As the editor of the Lexicon, I get email every so often from fans asking me to publish the Lexicon in book form, so I’ve dealt with this question before. Basically, it is illegal to sell a book like that. Jo has reserved all publishing rights to her intellectual property, which means that she’s the only one who may publish any book that is a guide or encyclopedia to her world. And since we’re fans and supporters of Jo, we wouldn’t do anything that would violate her rights, even if we could get away with it. We wouldn’t get away with it, though, since Neil Blair, her solicitor, is very quick to defend his illustrious client in things like this.

So while it’s a smashing idea, it simply isn’t something that’s allowed at the moment. Believe me, when the series is finished, I plan to petition Jo to allow the Lexicon to work with her to create the ultimate Harry Potter encyclopedia. In the mean time, we’ll have to use the various online resources.

ETA 3: Let's juxtapose a couple of things here.

Steve Vander Ark at Prophecy 2007 (video): "Jo has quit; she is done... the fans are taking over now!"

A comment on his statement at the Lexicon tonight:

I don’t know what’s legal or illegal, not absolutely sure what’s moral or immoral, but my sympathies are certainly with Steve here.... If Rowling wants to corner the “companion book” market, she should get busy writing instead of sending lawyers to save her a seat. She just doesn’t want to LOSE CONTROL of HER creation.

Steve, how may I contribute to your defense fund?

I'm just saying.

ETA 4: The Times Online posts article; comment-wank ensues. (Thanks, sheep.) Favorite comment: "There are numerous Lord of The Rings encyclopaedias and a large number relating to Sherlock Holmes to name just two. Come off it Ms Rowling, your books are in the public domain and anyone can write books about them without your permission. If you're so concerned about charities give them the money you're about to pay your lawyers and shut up."

Also: he's a lawyer, and he admits he doesn't know anything about what's in the Lexicon book or on the site, but he's pretty sure the Lexicon's got a case. Another lawyer over here says something similar (thanks, iheartsirius).

ETA 5: Lashings of stupid at an AOL article, via sheep.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of Rowling's outing of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Okay Rowling, since you say that Dumbledore is gay. Does this mean that you are a closet lesbian?

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Someone saw her profile with some photos on richsoulmate.com, wherecelebrities and wealthy singles hook up. She feels lonely, doesn't she?

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SHE IS TRASH SHE AND HER WORKS ARE BANISHED FROM OUR HOME
BOYCOTT THIS TRASH DECCENT PEOPLE UNITE TRASH ! ! !

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From miss_eponine, a teal deer takes the opportunity to pimp his own book on Tolkien in the Wall Street Journal comments. Call him, Steve! *phone fingers*

And from ladysphinx: "1.3: But there was still another sign, wherein the mightiest of Wizards shall leave his closet, and the people shall know his sexual preference, though he be as one dead. But the people denied that this was the foretold coming.... 1.6: And fandom rose as one, saying, Surely, this is not the Potterdammerung of which the prophets spake?"

ETA 6: Okay, I thought I'd already posted this on the second entry, but it looks like not. soleta_nf, as previously stated, remembered Steve Vander Ark saying at Convention Alley 2004 that "his real reason for starting the lexicon was that he knew JKR would be publishing an encyclopedia someday, and he hoped that, by having already created one, he would be the person she approached to help her with it." What I forgot to add was that someone here (ETA: waltraute!) found a July 2000 Yahoo Groups post saying that he had just then started the Lexicon for that very reason:

RE: [harrypotteranonymous] new Harry Potter website

> Maybe Scholastic should
> contact you
> about publishing a Harry Potter Index!>

Thanks for you kind words. From what I hear, JKR herself has talked about
doing an encyclopedia of the HP Universe when she gets through all 7 books.
If she decides not to, hey, I'm ready to go! :)

Steve

Which is simply to say, the intent was there from the site's inception.