Permission to use her copyrighted works for *one medium* don't automatically extend to another, in much the same way that copyrighting one name *in one medium* doesn't automatically extend to others, which is why blizzard owns the rights to any Diablo or Warcraft films, regardless of whether they get made, and books.

The internet makes the line fuzzy, but just because JKR gave permission to have a website, doesn't give them blanket permission to publish the work in any medium they want to.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Van is correct (obviously) but I disagree with it, even if he had not had the website, she shouldn't have won in court.

Just as obviously the courts don't agree with me

But overall...I think it's a bad thing for everyone. I'm not against allowing a creator control over their creation...but this extends beyond the scope of it. And if you think about how many things reference original work that could be theoretically impacted...

Well, she could now turn around and demand the site be removed as a withdrawl of her permission. The courts say she 'owns' that material right, and so it would also extend to that medium as well.

It will be interesting to see if she will.

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She had a use for the kid. He promoted her shit FOR FREE and made her cash. His website created awareness even on top of the already huge fame of the series. Now that it's done and she has no more use for him, he gets the axe. Not like she needs the cash, but the whole lexicon thing is a license to print money, and if it was as popular as people say, it would have made a shit load of it.

And she would not have saw one dime, and saw someone profiting on her work for just being a giant fanboy. Pretty simple to me.

She's not the first person to pull shit like this. Go read any of the biographies on Gene Roddenberry. It's a thousand wonders any Star Trek shit got made at all with how deep he had to have his talons in everything. Then again, coke is an expensive tool of creativity.

I don't think this is true at all. The only people interested in a website like that would be people who are *already* big fans of the series, as someone else here already pointed out. What evidence do you have for this?

If I were interested in Harry Potter, but have not followed the series, where would you send me? Wikipedia? Random Google search? Or a website the author herself awarded and highly praised that contained accurate information straight from the source?

So I guess common sense is my evidence.

People casually interested in it often use such reference guides (when they are offered for free) to gain additional insight and information into a series they enjoyed.

Also there are MANY people who do *not* buy the books or the merchandise who only had interest in seeing the movies (the tl;dr crowd). Many of them also go to such sites and have been inspired to buy the books based on what they've seen.

There's no question that fan sites like that (and a few others) generated a metric fuckton of cash for Rowling.

Look...I like her books, and I had a chance to read the series before ANYONE was talking about it, because a teacher gave me the first book and asked what I thought of it for their students. It was good, it was REALLY good...but I've also read better. Just off the top of my head, I'd rank 'Number the Stars' waaaay higher on my 'must read' list for kids that age.

It was word of mouth and the fact that kids would sit down and read this shit that got the ball rolling. Even then people thought she was a hack capitalizing off that other writer's "spooky" mystery genre (forget the name offhand but it was goosebumps I think).

Now even as popular as it all was, the movies and licensing catapulted it into the stratosphere. But you don't have any of that shit without the uber fanbois shoveling this shit onto everyone else.

Star Trek is a good analogy. Roddenberry was, quite frankly, a prick to a lot of people. He was very petty. He wrote lyrics to the opening theme music to screw the composer out of half the royalties...that's how much of a dick he was. A lot of people like Star Trek, but it's the uber fanbois that have made it was it is today.

Same with Firefly. Wouldn't be a movie named Serenity without the Browncoat fan base.

Fucking your uber fans is an extremely retarded thing to do. This is an issue which has truly split Rowling's fan community. It would have gone much worse for her I think except the guy she's fucking has continually defended her even as she's said horrible and nasty things about him personally.

I'm a fucking Harry Potter fanboy, as you'll ALL remember from my lengthy threads discussing her shit. The last book sucked balls. It was BAD. It was REALLY BAD. And most fans were left feeling more than a little gypped (no slur intended). It came off really half assed and what's terrible...it wasn't.

She just isn't a great writer. Don't get me wrong, she is really fantastic in some ways, and shines...really shines.

But it's like someone on one of those reality talent shows, where they come in and you're just like 'fucking WOW'...but they can't hit the high note.

She can't hit the high note. And I think she knows it.

And she's a one trick pony, there will never be anything else. I'd love to eat those words, I'd love for her to absolutely prove me wrong...but I'm right. This is it for her, and like an aging diva she's going to cling to it tooth and nail, because...that's it.

As to her fan base....only ones who'd BUY the reference guide/encyclopedia ARE the uber fans and the people who really liked the books/movies. And that's who she's shitting on.

Will it cost her? Yep, but people will still buy it. Provided she hurries. Because once the last movie is done...the lights go out and most people will go home.

Even if she's still on stage trying for encores.

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Or as I posted, if you watched the movies and knew there were things from the book left out and wanted to know more about...say the Marauder's Map...you'd hit up a fan site like that. And most sites even had things seperated by book, so if you were following the movies and NOT the books...they wouldn't spoil it for you.

But after you'd read some of the quotes pertaining to the information, perhaps you'd be interested in knowing more about this other thing, and another thing (similar to what happens I assume when many people research stuff...it can't be just me!) and how many people decided to read the books then.

I don't know, but I'd guess...a lot.

And my evidence would be the fact that I used that guy's site (among others, there were about 2 other sites that were the absolute best...and endorsed by Rowling) and there were many users who posted about the sites enhancing their enjoyment of the series, and how they got into the series from the books because of the sites. Though in fairness in some cases it may have just been the sense of community for some adults/kids, especially if they didn't have cohorts that loved it to discuss it with. Me, I have RL Harry Potter nutbags to talk to as well, so I didn't 'need' the communities (and kinda avoided them truthfully...too many young ones ) but I did read speculation by the community leaders, which was often pretty good.

Anyway it def. enhanced MY experience. I even bought a Harry Potter guide published before the end of the series which GREATLY enhanced my enjoyment of the books (and caused me to reread them more than once)

/sigh

I am such a fucking nerd, and you'd never know it to look at me.

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To me, this is a situation where everyone loses. I don't know much about it, but I dont' understand why Rowling's publisher didn't simply do the book, give him writing credit and give her top billing as "based on the world by". Give them some royalties and move on.

Either way, bummer.

I never thought she was very good to begin with.

And the last book...ugh...could the pacing have been any worse? Especially the final battle? And ESPECIALLY the end of the final battle?

Heard on the news yesterday that she won the case.

Yea I didn't read all 15 post to see it was brought up already

Tarot, if I wrote a series equalling the length of Ender's, Bean's, or Harry's story, I wouldn't lightly sign away the right to interpret that story to just anyone. I'd certainly be incensed if someone else attempted to interpret it their own way, because it's my story and I'm telling it, dammit. Leaving aside the considerable consequences of failing to defend one's copyrights, it just exceeds this other dude's authority to speak "authoritatively" on something I wrote, as long as I retain the right to speak so myself. Whether or not I ever do so is tangent to the main point, which is that I should have the legal right not to have someone else put words in my mouth -- which is what any work that claims to be related to the original, would do.