J.K. Rowling goes to court

J.K. Rowling, author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, exits the Manhattan federal court in New York on April 14, 2008, after testifying on the first day of her trial against a publishing company that planned to print an encyclopedia about the books.

Author of the "Harry Potter" series, J.K. Rowling, takes publishing company to court over an attempt to publish a "Harry Potter" encyclopedia.

J.K. Rowling, the author of the popular “Harry Potter” series, is making an appearance in the United States, in an unlikely place – a lower Manhattan federal courtroom.
Rowling and Warner Brothers are suing RDR Books, a small publisher from Muskegon, Mich., that is trying to print a Harry Potter encyclopedia based off of the popular “Harry Potter Lexicon” Web site. They claim that the book, written by Steven Vander Ark and three other authors, constitutes copyright infringement.

“I feel as though my name and my works have been hijacked, against my wishes, for the personal gain and profit of others and diverted from the charities I intended to benefit,” Rowling said in a declaration to the court, as recorded by The New York Times.

The initial lawsuit, filed in October 2007, suspended publication of the book, listed to sell for $24.95. Roger Rapoport, publisher of RDR Books, said they planned to print 10,000 copies.

Lawyers for RDR Books argue that the lexicon is a structured reference work with additional analysis, commentary and insights.
Known for her avid support of her fans’ creativity, Rowling has never objected to publishing literary criticism or reviews of the Harry Potter books on the Lexicon Web site.

However, according to the BBC, Rowling and Warner Bros said that they saw a distinct difference between fans publishing information on the Internet, which is free and not profitable, and selling the information in a book, which is intended to make the publisher money.

“I feel massively disappointed that this matter had to come to court at all,” Rowling said. “Given my past good relations with the Lexicon fan site, I can only feel sad and disillusioned that this is where we have ended up.”

Rowling has been very emotional about the entire ordeal in court. According to a quote from her in The New Times, the Harry Potter series was a product of times “when I was choosing literally between food and typewriter ribbon.”

The situation has upset Rowling so much that she has stopped working on her new novel. She is also questioning her own plans to compile an encyclopedia of the Harry Potter world, which would take two to three years, and whose proceeds would go to charity.

 “I’m not sure I have the will and heart to continue with the encyclopedia” if the lexicon comes to market, Rowling told The New York Times.

David Hammer, an RDR lawyer, told The New York Times that he feels that Rowling is acting out of arrogance. “She wants to be the only one to write this encyclopedia about Harry Potter,” he said. “She’s determined to write it, and she doesn’t want competitors.”

Rowling, however, does not believe the lawsuit is about money but more about a “massive principle” regarding precedents for authors.

According to an article by the Associated Press, “If RDR’s position is accepted, it will undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on the freedoms enjoyed by genuine fans on the Internet,” she said. “Authors everywhere will be forced to protect their creations much more rigorously, which could mean denying well-meaning fans permission to pursue legitimate creative activities.”

Rowling’s character, Albus Dumbledore was quoted during opening statements, arguing a similar stance. Lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson, Jr. to “choose between what is right and what is easy.”

Vander Ark, a genuine fan, initially declined RDR Book’s proposal to write an encyclopedia partly because he believed it would violate copyright law in print form. However, an RDR employee informed him that a print version of the Web site would not constitute copyright infringement.

Still, Vander Ark insisted that the company include a clause in his contract requiring the publisher to defend and pay damages that might result from any claims filed against him, although he is not a party in the current lawsuit.

The trial comes eight months after Rowling’s seventh book in the Potter series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was released. Rowling’s books have been published in 64 languages, sold over 400 million copies worldwide and spawned a $4.5 billion film franchise at the box office.