Lexicon: JKR & WB vs. Steven Vander & Co.

'Harry Potter' fan weeps on witness stand - Wild about Harry - MSNBC.com

“The British author sued Michigan-based RDR Books to stop publication of Steven Vander Ark's ‘Harry Potter Lexicon,’ claiming copyright infringement. Vander Ark runs the popular Harry Potter Lexicon Web site, and RDR wants to publish a print version of the site...”

My first reaction was, "why can't they just work together?" She would need someone very much like him to make it work anyway. How many times has she said things along the lines of my-mind-doesn't-work-that-way? Can you imagine those two personalities combined in one project? All of her back stories, all of his cross-referencing, keeping each other in line…

Among other things, JKR says, "I believe that it is sloppy, lazy..." but if she tried to do it by herself, her version would be more so. It's a catch-22. If she were the kind of person who could do such a nit-picky job well, she would not have been able to create Harry Potter in the first place. Stick with your core-competency and out-source the rest.

Then there's the part that says Vander & RDR want to charge $24.95, which is more than any of the books themselves cost. Oh, well. I was kind of sympathetic up to that point.

Psy, do you have to insult JKR in every post?
The fact is, she can do a nit-picky job well. If she couldn't, she wouldn't be able to create Harry. Everything made sense to me... and I am extremely nit-picky.

I didn't see that as an insult.
Different people are good at different things.
It's who she is. She acknowledges it freely.

It sounded like an insult...

And I still say if she's nit-picky enough to create Harry, she is nit-picky.

But this Vander guy is world class.
Of course he shouldn't be allowed to continue without her permission.
It just seems like such a waste.
Together, they would be awesome.

Yes....but surely he should have asked her permission before any announcement about publishing was made....

I don't know about the legal rights and wrongs - it's just good manners!!!!

Personally , I don't think there's any chance that JK and that Vander Ark will work together. And I don't think JK should , either. Come on! Harry Potter is her great achievement after 17 year's hard working! Why should she share it with others? Yeah, Vander Ark has added his own interpretation. So what? I believe most of us have some , too! Besides, in the article JK said that if Vander Ark's lexicon was published, she would hardly have the will to continue with her encyclopedia. Then whose work will you want to read? Of course we'll choose JK's!

JK doesn't NEED help with anything relating to Harry Potter , not from anyone even Steve Van Ark ... and I adore Lexicon. I often think ..."What would JK do , if she came here to HPC and read our stories threads and RPG ? would she throw up her hands and say ... fantastic, people are enjoying creating their own stories from my work , or would she ... run out of the room screaming with nausea?"
My point is ~ she doesn't need help to write anything to do with Harry Potter.

JK's CORE IS HARRY POTTER. If she wants to do it alone, that's her call.