J.K. Rowling Will Make You Cry
Filed under: Anglophilia > Legal Matters > Harry Potter
The librarian-author at the heart of the Harry Potter encyclopedia lawsuit controversy, Steven Jan Vander Ark, broke down sobbing on the witness stand on Tuesday.
The 50-year old librarian was described by courtroom observers as "school boy charming" and an obvious Harry Potter die hard. On the witness stand, the librarian portrayed J.K. Rowling as 'his idol, his true literary love, who had been unaccountably bewitched by the evil, money-grubbing forces of publishing, like one of Voldemort’s vassals.' He couldn't understand how Rowling one day was singling out his Harry Potter Lexicon Web site, out of “hundreds of thousands” of Potter fan sites on the Web, for praise and then the next is accusing him of plagiarism for wanting to turn it into a book.
The report goes on to recount that when the librarian was asked by his lawyer if he considered himself part of the Harry Potter community:
“I did,” he said, his face reddening, as he turned away from Ms. Rowling, who was sitting 10 feet away at the plaintiff’s table, listening intently. Then he burst out crying. “Sorry,” he said, regaining his composure. “It’s been difficult because there’s been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention.”
Pussy!
Rowling reacted to the librarian's testimony through an e-mail message from a spokeswoman, saying, “A fan’s affectionate enthusiasm should not obscure acts of plagiarism.”
Can't they find a way to work together?
[Image via WENN.]
FIRST
Old hag has a point, it's her material & I hope she wins.
seriously, there is no stopping this heartless bitch. she's the richest author alive, and one of the wealthiest people in the world, and she spends all her money hiring lawyers to attack those people who try to make any themself!! SO ridiculous! hell, she plagiarized a lot of her ideas as well! the crazy bitch needs to die already so the harry potter fans can do what they want.
I understand both sides, but the truth of the matter is that it IS plagiarism! She deserves to win, but she should be a little gentle on him since he's such a fan.
Eh…
Fuck her! Isnt a billion dollars enough for her? I guess she forgot how hard up for money SHE used to be not to long ago… fucking writing hairy potter on a napkin… I guess money changes cunts like JK Rowling
wow.
it's her fucking material so he can't rip it off.
WTF
ROWLING IS A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL at the people looking like "wizards & warlocks" in the background.
Omg. My friend told me that she saw her profile with hot photos on "milliona irefriends com". Is that true? Maybe… OMG, is she looking for new relationships?
Does anyone know what Monday's secret code word was for the Tyra Bank's show?
DEAR ROWLING,
FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are putting a FAN THROUGH THIS! YOU WOULD PROBABLY SUE YOUR OWN MOTHER TO GET MORE MONEY YOU DISGUSTING COW!
It's her work and no one should try and benefit without her permission.
well then she needs to sue all the other fan sites as well! she should not just pick and choose. she's starting to come across as an old bitter hag now.
translation
- the guy really is a die-hard Rowling fan and realizes that he allowed his publisher to scam him into an act of wilful plaigarism
.
I agree Perez, it would be great if the two of them can work together — and cut out the money grubbing publisher middleman who tried to get a free ride on the Potter magic carpet
he stole her work. why do you expect her to work with him?
Lets see how important money is when you're dead. Bc everyone dies and no one needs more than a billion dollars. It's ridiculous how people never stop wanting more and she's hurting a fan!!!!
I am no longer a fan!
The problem with this case is that the online fansite is one thing because all over it the site said "copyright of J.K. Rowling and that this is only for fun. Noinfringement intended." That's the standard for a HP fansite. What he is trying to do is to profit on Rowling's work, which is copyright infringement.
Shes not the saint she or the media paints herself out to be…
Dont all be fooled…
Im tired of her and her damn books and harry potter…
Shes got nothing more to do than sue people…
shes new money from white trash and always will be….
She should have offed herself year ago.. now we are stuck with nothing more then a over inflated children's book writer who thinks shes gods gift to the world…
She's gonna loooooooooooooose. Fanfiction abounds, you can't stop it. She needs to get over herself. The books aren't even that good - overhyped.
He maybe an enthusiast of Harry Potter but he is plagiarizing someone else's work. J.K. Rowling spent nearly 20 years working on those novels and deserves all the money that goes with it. She is not money hungry but protective of a work that has consumed so much of her life. Harry Potter lexicon websites are not illegal but when you decided to compile and profit off of something that is not yours that is where the line is drawn. He maybe passionate about Harry Potter but true Harry Potter fans respect the author and her wishes.
Wonder how much this douche has made off her hardwork and creativity.
Hmmm…Wonder how much I could make off a Perez Hilton Encyclopedia?
She announced plans for this books months ago.. It's going to charity. It's HER WORK. It's one thing to have a fan site and another to profit from a book. I hope she wins.. Boo hoo librarian baby
It's her work, she has the right to sue.. unlike fatty Perez who sues someone for saying bad (but true) things about him. Fatty.. when are you going to learn.. and when are you going to get some cleanser that helps remove the extra oil from your skin. You look very dirty… yuk.
WTF does she have in her hand? A crab??
:( watta sob story!
well obvisouly he is a big fan of harry potter and he had no intentions of doing any harm. it doesn't make it right that it is plagiarism tho. you would think Rowling would have some kind of heart and not sue her own fans tho! work something out with the poor guy outside of court.
if i was an artist and my work captivated someones heart in such a manner id be so flattered to think that it i was the one who owed them something. for being so passionate about what i had created and having so much admiration for me. if warner goes after this guy so be it but for rowling to be so upset and up in arms about it what a total cunt. go back to england with your billion dollars and leave the nerdy 50 year old librarian alone bitch
There is a stark difference between running a free website, where information regarding the books is listed in voluminous supply and taking another author's works, characters, etc etc and publishing a Harry Potter Encyclopedia which only lists information already provided by the author. That is stealing her work. It is plagerism. Had this gentleman published a book of theories or analysis on Rowlings books, characters etc., he would not be sitting in court right now. Many other HP websites have done just that, many other people have published such books and they are not in court crying like an idiot who got caught with his hand in someone elses cookie jar. When she sent a cease and desist to him, the publisher and attorneys; they should have stopped instead of fighting and proceeding. He has brought this on himself.
To her, her books are like a masterpiece.
She probably feels like her work is the Mona Lisa
and this guy painted a mustache on it.
-
Personally, I'm not a fan of the books.
I'm not a ten-year-old either…
Re: Josh –
Plagiarism is the practice of claiming or implying original authorship of (or incorporating material from) someone else's written or creative work, in whole or in part, into one's own without adequate acknowledgement. -Wikipedia
I don't think what he's doing is plagiarism. he would still be citing jk rowling's books as reference.
she looks really hot in that picture! or maybe it's just the money i'm seeing..
anyway i think she's damn right. it is her work and his use of it is plagiarism. it's ok to do it online cos its not for profit! duh
That's really sad, I feel bad for both of them and I see both of their points of view but I think I have to side with J. K. Rowling. She created the characters, they're like her children, and she has every right to want to be associated with anything that's created that features them. It's not even about the money, or it wouldn't be for me. She should be the sole creator of all Potter stuff. If the guy had approached her and asked to collaborate on it, then maybe. But I do feel bad for him too.
Umm… i just clicked on your "adverstise here!" link.. BLOODY HELL perez, you must be absolutely rolling-in-the-shit-LOADED! Y
you charge about 240,000 to advertise for a few months? and there are so many adds on this sight. millions and millions a year you must make! do you get all that money or do you have to pay other people too..
and that's just from this venture!
didn't quite realise..
much love
J.K. Rowling is a bitch, and I really hope she loses. Doesn't she have enough money already??? Seriously…I don't think this guy ever thought he was plagiarizing. If she's not willing to work with this guy, she should at least have the decency to drop the lawsuit if he agrees not to publish the encyclopedia.
The fact is, she knows more about Harry and his world then anybody else! She was already planning for a big encyclopedia that she was going to write.
Its HER world. Her characters her ideas. It doesnt matter that she has made millions from these books….the fact is, is that they are HERS!
Also, why should she have to work with some fan on her books encyclopedia just because he a stupid moron who obviously has no brain cells.
Stop your whining kid. You brought it on yourself.
Let's get this straight: She had absolutely no issues with what this man (or any other fan sites) were doing up until the point that a profit stood to be made using characters she had created. Once this man and his publishers decided to use her original ideas for their own financial gain, she made her disapproval be known.
That sounds pretty reasonable to me. How much money she has is irrelevant. They are her characters and this man is trying to make money off of her ideas without her permission. She deserves to win.
It would be one thing if he wanted to release a book claiming to be the sequel and taking over the characters. But, it's a dictionary of sorts rehashing what's already been done. How do millions of "unauthorized" authors get away with publishing books about Madonna, Liz, Michael J, etc. without getting into trouble? By using one little word on the cover "UNAUTHORIZED"
She doesn't have a legal leg to stand on but, she has enough money to blow up the building with the judge in it - if she doesn't get her way!
She's disgusting…
I can't believe he was so stupid to try and publish it without asking her in the first place anyway. If he had any common sense he wouldn't be in court now and Rowling is completely within her rights to sue his ass off. Plus she is lovely in person (have met her) and was probably too lenient with the fan sites in the first place. He cried cause he knows he was wrong and now he's in trouble, I used to do the same when I was 10 and I broke one of my mums favourite ornaments.
i hope the librarian wins. jk is so cheap. she never gave a dime of her billions to the poor low level editor that got her first book published.
She created this "Harry Potter Culture" - SHE needs to take responsiblity for
what SHE created. Has anyone copied Martha Stewart- fuck yeah Or Perez
Hilton- fuck yeah. She should throw this guy a bone and accept the
complement for what it is. Now I think she's a MORON.
I wonder how understanding Perez would be if he found one of his fans selling Perez Hilton T shirts
It's plagiarism. She doesn't have to do anything with him. It's her work and she can do what she wants to with it. He stole her work. If she lost this law suit what is going to stop everyone in the world from making their own Harry Potter books or any other work that another author wrote. She needs to win this law suit for all writers to protect their work.
Re: Erin – I agree with you. I think it's pretty obvious that this man didn't mean to plagiarize, so she shouldn't be tough on him if he agrees not to publish the book. This lawsuit isn't really a good message to HP fans. And really, does J.K. Rowling need the money from this lawsuit? I don't think so…I think her fame has gone to her head.
That was pretty harsh, if she truly felt any compassion for the poor man she would work with him on it, or I don't know like give him permission or something. Even though it's plagiarism (hence why she should work with him), she's the one thats hurting image coming off as a cold bitch.
for the record:
they would work together because they were friends beforehand.
and working together would bring compromise to a blown-out situation that will have monumental results if there is a verdict
instead of settlement.
RE : scott
if rowling wins then that means author's will have the authority to shut down all fan websites, fanfics and even references.
doesn't that sound great?
The point is that he is trying to cash in on her work. It doesn't matter if she made a dollar or a billion dollars on the HP series… it's HER series! He has NO right to it.
As an aspiring author I can feel for Rowling… and everyone calling her heartless and a bitch is way out of line. What if this was your work, and someone was trying to make a quick buck off you? Seriously, if it doesn't hurt your puny brain too much, THINK about it!
I really think she is making an example of this guy.
If she doesn't come down on him, how many others will pop up? She's putting a stop to this now before it gets out of hand.
Bravo, Rowling!
I don't read her books or know much about the case, but in every interview I've seen her in she strikes me as the biggest bitch.
In the Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids Michigan, they had an article on Steven Vander Ark and his website. At the end of the article, there was a quote from J.K. Rowling that stated that she used his site as a reference even when she was writing the last 2-3 books! Who is plagerising who here? There are millions of websites up that give details on the characters, storylines, events, books, and movies. Why is it that when one decides to publish a book (because there is a great population out there that does not have access to the internet) that its a big deal? I understand both sides of the story. I feel that they should be able to publish the book but all of the proceeds get to go to a charity of choice made by Rowling. It's what they want and it's what she wants. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Re: lisa – Exactly. He's not claiming ownership of the lexicon - he's compiling it as a reference and incorporating comments and essays from the blog so how is that plagiarism? I think Rowling is out of line - she says she wants to do one of her own. So why can't there be two? Look at how many "companion" pieces there are to other popular works. Rabid fans will buy it ALL. And it's worth noting that Rowling herself lifted stuff from tons of other works. But this is what happens when people make too much money and power trip. Just look at Madonna for how bad that can get.
Is it plagiarism if the man is attributing the work to her? I mean really. She's a money grubbing whore these days. Probably got her panties in a bunch because she knows she's a one hit wonder with this storyline. Beyond this her stuff will flub.
she is a stone cold bitch and harry potter sucks ass, that librarian needs to find a new literary idol, once again my theory that british people are total assholes is confirmed
Uhhhhh…noooo… they can't… why should she let anyone in on her blood, sweat and tears… her genius…
Re: K-Swan – So he's going to make some money off it, why shouldn't he? His site was probably responsible for raking in tons of cash for Rowling by promoting her work, for free. This is standard practice - look at how many cover bands cash in on other musicians' work. She should get some licensing fees but she she shouldn't be able to stop him from doing what he's doing. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
I see both sides. I mean, I feel for the guy because he had a good idea which fans like but that's the thing…he had a good idea about another good idea: her copy written book with her copy written characters. Thems the breaks. She's protecting her considerable assets because if she lets him do it then everyone else can and then she has a diluted product. Hell, Disney once sued (and won) a case against a daycare center that had painted Disney characters on the wall! He should have just kept the website up and not tried to make money off the book
Its her work and the guy was doing something he shouldent, so lets stone him? JK seems like a stone cold bitch! With all her success she should give back to her community and work with fans instead of being a greedy cunt!
One thing to get straight….
She is suing because she is writing her own encyclopedia book.
BUT she is giving all of the money she makes off of it to charity.
She may have a billion dollars, but shes not suing to get more.
Who cares if she's rich? She didn't use to be. She got rich because she came up with an original and successful series of books. Yes, this guy runs a fan site of hers, but that was fine because he wasn't profiting off her.
Now, he wants to profit off of what it the original, unique, intellectual property of another. He doesn't deserve to take J.K. Rowling's work, repackage it, and earn money off of someone else's creation. It doesn't matter that he's a huge fan or he's rich. If J.K. Rowling allows this guy to get away with it, who's to stop the next guy? She would never have money in the first place, morons!
It is not about the money!!!!!
It is about protecting her caracters! It is her world!
J.K Rowling has become a total bitch since Harry Potter has come out. The woman has millions but doesn't do a nice single thing for anyone but herself, does she not remember her life before she wrote Harry Potter?
She's a terrible person.
Thats the thing about Americans on this site, you dont get that not verything is about money. You cant just rip peoples work for it you have to work for it. Thats what us Brits are like and why we are so much better than you. It is not about the money you idiots. You don't seem to care about Artistic credibilty, more about how much you have in the bank account.
Yeah, that was my first thought when I 1st heard. If the work is good, why doesn't JKR simply roll with it, edit, add to it, collaborate. It's done already.
Re: Vanessa – Great theory that ya stupid tramp. Funny how the rest of the world hates everything to do with you americans.
Re: Belinda – rm are you thick or someting? Harry Potter is the single most famous piece of work ever. And how many hits does this site get? Exactly.
Re: Aud –
Ha ha What a stupid thing to say. That's like saying The Bible is a one hit wonder ROFLMAO
Re: Cali – Well, the moron here is you, actually. Everyone profits from other people's efforts. Pay a visit to Barnes and Noble and check it out. Look at all the other stupid books that go with the Harry Potter series. Plagiarism Is Seinfeld's wife copying recipes straight out of someone else's cookbook and calling them her own. This is not plagiarism!
Re: Cecilia – She HAS ownership of her world and her characters. He is organizing an encyclopedia of terms from the book, per se. How is that wrong?
Re: matt –
She says she's giving it to charity but what does that matter? People will buy anything with her name on it so why is she so worried?
She has every right to do this, she deserves to win. While she is fine with the encyclopedia online, where it is making no profit (much like fanfiction and the like that she supports), of course she does not want this person to sell it. It is available free online, and to make a profit out of her work IS plaigerism.
Re: Ryan - You Stupid Americans – And your point is?
what a BITCH!
she has no legal precedent..she is probably going to lose anyway.
writing a non-fiction guide to the books is NOT plagiarism… if it was, books like "cliff notes" would be plagiarism.
A 50 year old LIBRARIAN, he probably has access to the best works of literature out there, but his "true literary love" is JK Rowling… LOL @ THIS LOSER!!!
Re: Ryan - You Stupid Americans – I thikn I wrote my points ya idiot. Is your education system really that bad ova there?
Re: Ryan – Well, we Americans probably bought more stupid Harry Potter books than anyone else so put that in your pint. I read your other comments - not very bright, are you now? This has nothing to do with artistic integrity or protecting it. It IS about money, for her at least. She sat by and reaped the benefits of all the hype this subculture created for her work. But she doesn't want them to benefit? Ridiculous.
Re: Belinda – I think I wrote my points ya idiot. Is your education system really that bad over there?
Re: Pinkie – Well as you have a bigger population than most countries, I suppose you were going to buy more. That is just common sense. It has EVERYTHING to do with artistic credibility. How is it about money, you are ignoring the fact that her money is going to charity. You are ignoring the fact she put tons and tons of money into charity. And it is her work, she should have the say. In Britain we have something called principles. You should learn what they are.
LEAVE JKROWLING ALONE PEREZ
She has written the most amazing set of books and poured everything into them. This man, no matter how big a fan, or if he had good intentions or whatever else, has NO RIGHT t take that away from her. Harry Potter is hers and no one has the right to take that.
She actually worked hard to become famous. Instead of spending her life gossiping about other people (ahem) , she created a masterpeice that touched millions. Leave. Her. Alone.
Re: Josh –
No. She's protecting whats hers. Its her right.
Re: Erin –
She worked hard for what she has. She created a thing of wonder that totally changed peoples lives. I know it changed mine.
Re: auds –
Thats ridiculous! Do you know how much money she send to charity? Do you know how much time she spends doing benefits? Honestly, get the facts straight before you attack. Harry Potter is her material and she has every right to defend it.
Re: Jennifer –
I agree with you completely. Thank you for bringing some sense into these responses.
Re: Erin –
Its not about the money. Its about the fact that she speant close to twenty years of her life working on these books and they are hers . He has no right to them at all.
You've gone too far. JK Rowling is in no way devilish. You're being a baby Perez. She has the right to protect her life's work. Whether or not this is the 'perfect' case in which to underline that, as yet, I can not say.
Re: Tulip –
Its a fucking purse. Gosh.
so many commenters are against people profiting by rowlings work but what about fan websites that have advertisers? thats profit. as someone eluded to perez makes a ton off advertising so should he be sued for posting video links or photos of heidie montauges fashion designs? what about people who have written books on the masterpieces of art in europe? should they be sued by van gohs descendants? where does it end? christ man you have a billion dollars leave well enough alone. allow your fans to revel in your work and if the most devoted of them makes a small profit so be it.
Re: jen –
K, you clearly have no idea what your taalking about. Get your fucking facts straight. SHE ALREADY HAS DONE THAT
It is her information, but she's made her point. The guy's a huge fan who spent his days applauding her work. Be a big girl, Rowling, and give him a break. Remember when someone did the same for you.
Marc - Me gusta nice tight gringo butt. Yo soy puta? Love that ass on JK.
k, Perez, lets get this straight. There are a lot of people you can mess with. Really, honestly I don't care who you make fun of. (obviously, or I wouldn't check your site everyday) But JkRowling is off limits. Leave. Her. Be. Because really all she has done is written seven amazing books that have changed peoples lives. You know nothing of her personal life because she doesn't flaunt it like some other people. And you DO NOT suggest she try and work with some guy who has tried to rip her off. Okay? K, glad we got that settled.
j.k.rowling represents everything wrong with england.
Re: Brittany – You are soooooooooooo off your CRUMPET! Educate yourself about the myriad charities that JK Rowling DOES ABSOLUTELY support and then get back to us! Do the research before you spew inaccuracies. (Yes, I'm an American, just in case you are wondering…and yes, JK Rowling is rightly and rightFULly protecting her life's work.) THIS IS NOT ABOUT MONEY for her. Are you ignorant or just stupid or what???!!
STUPID BRITS HAVE UGLY LOOKS AND BAD BREATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AT LEAST US AMERICANS ALLOW DIPSHITS LIKE PEREZ TO MAKE SOME DOUGH OFF THE RICH, UNLIKE LIKE SELFISH ROWLING!! SHARING IS CARING!
STUPID BRITS HAVE UGLY LOOKS AND BAD BREATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AT LEAST US AMERICANS ALLOW DIPSHITS LIKE PEREZ TO MAKE SOME DOUGH OFF THE RICH, UNLIKE LIKE SELFISH ROWLING!! SHARING IS CARING!
STUPID BRITS HAVE UGLY LOOKS AND BAD BREATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AT LEAST US AMERICANS ALLOW DIPSHITS LIKE PEREZ TO MAKE SOME DOUGH OFF THE RICH, UNLIKE LIKE SELFISH ROWLING!! SHARING IS CARING!
Yo Perez ditch the devil horns. Maybe give her a halo instead.
Damn bro, what a money-hungry bitch. A billion dollars isn't enough for this hag!! Give the kid a break! DO THE DAMN HARRY POTTER BOOK TOGETHER! PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
Re: CLEAVER –
Um actually you're wrong. A. I worked at Barnes & Noble when I was in college, so I've seen and flipped through the books you're talking about. B. I'm a law student and have taken courses in property and intellectual property, so I have some knowledge on the subject. Those books you're talking about discuss themes of the novels, and add their own analysis to what is already been established in her books. How come the estates of authors like Shakespeare and Hemingway don't sue when people write articles or books doing scholarly analysis of original works? The books you mentioned, discuss ideas that J.K. Rowling herself has NOT put into the novels It's not a crime ti write scholarly works. That is not copyright infringement under the law, which is what I was talking about in my previous post.
The book this man wants to publish is STRICTLY about J.K. Rowling's work. Just like your Seinfeld recipe example, nothing new or original is added. Basically, he has done nothing else except take her ideas and reorganize them. Also, J.K. Rowling probably also has the individual characters copyrighted, as well.
Just because she's rich and some fan cries on the witness stand about how hard this is for him, doesn't change intellectual property laws. Sorry.
Re: Pablo – Showing MY ignorance here, but, huh??? lol
Re: auds – wouldn't you get mad if someone was making money off of your ideas? This has nothing to do with how much money she has. Steve Vander Ark hasn't created anything, and therefore he shouldn't be making any money! And where are your facts saying that J.K. Rowling plagiarized? The only thing she did was take facts from Greek and Latin mythology and use them form a background for parts of her story. You can't plagiarize FACTS.
Re: Ryan – Why is every comment you make anti-American? How about you make a broad, rash, uneducated generalization about everyone in America? How can you say that every American only cares about money and artistic integrity, and actually believe that statement? The Brits are the paradigm of artistic expression? I'm sorry, I guess I forgot about Posh Spice, that artistic genius, who hawks any product she can put her name on because she can't sing a damn note. Or Katie "Jordan" Price who is a "model" more famous for being married to a gay guy and getting fake tans. Artists, indeed. There are exceptions to every rule.
Until you meet every American, maybe you should just shut your mouth, because you're making all Brits sound like pompous, uneducated blowhards.
Re: Pablo – I, ahem, "got" the statements there, just not the question.
(Yes, I highly respect JKR and what she has managed to accomplish. She's a genius.)