1st! ever!!!!!!!!!!!

how could someone even make an "unofficial" encylopedia?! they don't know what's in Jo's head. it makes no sense. People are annoying *Sigh*

I'm shocked and horrified... J.K even awarded the site for crying out loud. I've alwways been a staunch defender of you Jo, but i'm dissapointed. The sites are for fans, not to make money.

finally! Im gonna go check it now.

Yay jo! No one should write one but her.

Crumbs! I kinda see her point tho - some ppl might not buy another encyclopaedia if they've already got the lexicons (as they're already a trusted source) and so charities will lose out. They are her characters and she owns the universe (potter not actual LOL) so its her decision. I wonder how on earth steve got the permission to do it in the first place!! Isn't the lexicon website enough? Doesn't it generate money for the lexicon? It might seem unfair to 'the fans' but think about it, if we weren't already familiar with steve (and i'm a fan of his don't get me wrong) how would we react to ppl wanting to make money out of this without her consent.... being fair you've gotta say its her property. Sucks? Yes. Fair? Yes. L!

I feel like nothing will stop people from buying HER encyclopedia, but she does have all legal rights to the characters so if she wants to sue, she can. I'm not sure it's the nicest thing to do, but her perogative.

top ten? Yeah, im actually really looking forward to her encylopedia, and like reebee said, people will still buy her book. I don't think she has to worry about not making a significant amount to give to charities...

Another war of words... lawyers make the bucks here, my friends. Let JKR write the encyclopedia, we are intelligent enough to see that its the original material from her own imagination, not someone else's.

Sorry, when I posted that first comment I hadn't actually read the article :P I think HPLexicon really has no right to write a companion without her permission, that's just stupid. I'm sure she didn't want to sue them, since they're a great HP fan site, but if she's going to write her own, which will obviously be better since she's the author and she has more backstory, it makes sense that she would want to write it and donate the money. So yeah.

jo is suing them because by selling this book they are "taking" the money that would have gone to charity. It doesnt even matter that jo encyclopedia wold sell more regardless of the lexicon book. jo is right here. however these are actually fans of both books and Jo and if Jo would have told them to stop I have no doubt that they would have listen.

I've always been behind JKR but this just seems...stupid. She's supported Lexicon for so long and she never said anything against "what will happen in book 7". She should know that all the fans will buy her book because it will have NEW INFORMATION (and she should include the childhood for Sirius she wrote *nods* ) Besides it would be nice to have all the original HP stuff on hand

The lexicon is already a trusted source of information, and they only state basically what everyone already knows..

I think its really dumb they are filing suit against the Lexicon, I mean JKR said it was her natural home for all Harry Potter Info, so why is WB suing it? Its not harming anyone or making money off the info, it just helps all Harry Potter fans.

Hmmm.... I think this is kind of stupid. The HP Lexicons encyclepedia would be different infomation from what would be in Jo's, wouldn't it? HPL's encylepedia would just be everything we already know put together and Jo's would be backstory and stuff. I would have liked to look at it. Oh well. JKR and Warner Bros are gonna win...

She's suing some of her most dedicated fans who started the HP Lexicon website because they loved her books so much. I think this is stupid.

Awwww, poor Steve. I do kinda think it was silly to actually 'publish' a book, in which you make money, becasue that's DEFINATELY a breach of the copyright rules. Site are ok though. And it sounds as if heaps of you haven't even SEEN the lexicon before. I would before you say stupid things like, "Aw, we would rather it from her own head. You can't just make it up!" *sigh*

The Lexicon is only a bunch of compiled information that was stated in the books or things that she said herself. If she publishes an encyclopedia, she'll have the background stories of the characters in her head and that's what'll make people buy it. Unless she tells us what happens to the characters before she makes the book (if she makes it) it shouldn't effect sales.

People, come on now, think straight. She has nothing against the Lexicon online, but the lexicon book will be making a profit off of HER information. Steve from the Lexicon is using her information to make a profit!!! He's publishing a book and trying to make money by publishing information that we can get from her books or interviews...

I agree with Jo. It's not the proliferation of the material she and WB are against, it's the fact that someone other than the rightful owners of the material and trademarks are making money off of them. Jo respects the Lexicon, the suit doesn't change that, but she has the right to say "No, thanks, I don't want you making money off of something that belongs to me." Selling books won't help HP fans any more than the website will, but the website makes no money. The creator of the Lexicon is taking a legitimate operation and turning it into a revenue-producing project. This is not okay. Jo has every right to sue. Besides that, WB has to work to protect it's property.

goodness people..... i mean yes its unofficial but its not really reliable and how do we know that everything from the 'lexicon' is the truth? i mean its not like Jo sat down and read to make sure eveything was correct!!! so technically either the lexicon one is going to be made up information, information we already know, or stuff that came from a bunch of theories we now know to be false!!! i mean come guys just let JKR write her encyclopedia!!! its not like she does it for the money because she doesn't she gives A LOT to charities and what about these lexicon people.....are they really doing it for us fans and the love of harry potter like JK Rowling would?

Frankly, I can't believe the incredible arrogance of the Lexicon to think that it could get away with publishing some so clearly in violation of copyright and intellectual property rights laws. They have absolutely no legal right to publish something like this, and when you factor in Jo's previously announced intention to publish her own encyclopedia, then the Lexicon's arrogance crosses the threshold and barrels full-force into stupidity. There is NO way that they will win this argument, nor should they. They're just making a buck off of Jo's years of hard work. This isn't some sort of dissertation or literary review we're talking about here - it's merely a regurgitation of the things that Jo has already published. This is HER world that she's spent the better part of two decades creating, shaping and nuturing. The Lexicon is 100% wrong here, and they should have known better. Instead, greed - or, their inner Voldemort, if you will - ruled their decision. If they hadn't tried to go over Jo's head and done it in a collaborative manner, who knows? Maybe they might have had a more positive reaction. But now, faced with Jo's obvious displeasure, for them to take a defensive attitude - "we're going to publish anyway" - I think that they should be struck down fast and hard by the courts, if for no other reason than to prevent others from attempting similar endeavours.

Oh poor Steve! Being sued by Jo...

wow. again?

get em.

I do feel bad for the guy though. Imagine your favorite author/most likely hero suing you? That would suck.

And if The Lexicon's book were donating a portion of profit to charity would it be such an issue? Do we know for sure that it isn't planning to? As much as I love JK Rowling, I don't think she is justified here and I don't believe she will win her case. Jo Rowling's book will generate a million times more money than any other HP encyclopedia. By the time her book comes out, The Lexicon's will be long forgotten and people will be starving for official Potter info. Keep plugging Lexicon.

WHAT ON EARTH IS JO THINKING??? Okay, she even has a STINKIN' LINK TO THE SITE on her own site. Plus, she even said SHE uses it!! I mean, she's such a hypocrite. I'm wondering how much of it was her, or if it was just WB and they slapped her name on it. Because otherwise, that just bugs me. Like a large hairy spider (ok, didn't mean to make an Aragog reference there, honest), or small electronic devices placed on my telephone, or a cloud of angry wasps. Normally, I'm a huge fan of Jo, but this is just wrong. Let's go protest small electronic devices people!!!

omgoodness gracious...jkr awarded lexicon site on her own website! she said she was 'caught' browsing trhough it at the cafe. does tat not mean anything?? i mean i understand the whole thing about not wanting to have an encyclopedia released before her own...but its not like ppl wont buy her book b/c of tat...i mean fans are goign crazy waiting for her authenticated version. geez i dont know wat to think about jo anymore...

I think the copyright thing is getting a little out of control now. People wanting to promote fan-related material can't because it doesn't belong to them. I can see why they would get upset that someone is making money off of Jo's wonderful ideas, but honestly, it's just a fan work trying to keep fans reading the books and staying interested, and also to provide a source of knowledge. Sure, J.K. is going to make one later, and everyone will buy it, so I don't see anything wrong with allowing this one to be sold. Where were they when people were using Jo's context clues and things like that to publish books about what they thought would happen. Isn't that technically making money off Jo's ideas, regardless of it also involving the opinion of the author. Suddenly now that the series is over and the final book is published, fans can't do anything to just sort of pay tribute to the series. It's just getting ridiculous.

You guy please learn to read the newsl. She's not suing the online lexicon, she's suing Steven who is publishing and making a profit on a lexicon book. She asked it to stop and they refused. Steve is using her info and making money from it.

MORE SUING?????

HARRY POTTER DAY IS NOV. 1st!!!!!!!! PASS THE WORD ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So. Is she going to sue everyone who has made money on HP? MuggleNet published a book. Mercedes Lackey (fantasy author) edited a book that had a series of essays about HP. I'm sure there are more. Be consistent. Either sue them ALL, or don't sue any of them.

well i guess i could say that JKR should realize everyones doing stuff like this because they love her stuff, but if i wrote a really famous book, never mind that it was famous, i wouldnt want other people writing about it because its MINE. i have an overpossesive issue, but seriously its HER stuff. she has a right.

well i guess i could say that JKR should realize everyones doing stuff like this because they love her stuff, but if i wrote a really famous book, never mind that it was famous, i wouldnt want other people writing about it because its MINE. i have an overpossesive issue, but seriously its HER stuff. she has a right.

There's a huge difference jehanne1431. The lexicon book is just re-packaging of her information and is claiming it as his own and making money from it. He has no new information that she hasn’t already given us. Fan sights like TLC, the online Lexicon and Mugglenet give information for free to fans, fan don’t pay them for that info. They make money from ad’s. When they tried to make money by selling t-shirts with WB property they got into trouble.

Quick search on Amazon.com: Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.k. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter : A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts Published from 2004. If she wanted to sue people who published companion books, she's 3 years behind.

Say WHUUU...? Didn't JKR award HP-Lexicon a FSA?

I'm SO CONFUSED!! there are SO many companion books to harry potter! why are they targeting this one? So the Lexicon wants to publish an Unofficial Encyclopedia. COOL! i want one! does that mean that I wouldn't buy JKR's encyclopedia? OF COURSE NOT! What the heck is going on?! i am dissappointed in WB and JKR personally. :(

wouldnt true fans still buy her encyclopedia anyways? even if everyone buys this guys book, the hype will still be completely on hers when it is published. its not like fans arent gonna buy the original just because another is out.

Oh, so THAT is what she was referring to. Well, I think they should really not name it 'encyclopedia'. It solves everything. Because JKR is planning on making an encyclopedia, and so fans might buy the unofficial one instead of the sole, official one.

Those are books with peoples personal take on the Potter books, not a re-packaged version of all the info you can already get from her books and interviews. So I guess it would be ok for me to take a book series like say….. The Lord of The Rings, and re-write all the information (basically categorize all the info already in the books) and publish it as my own which the intent of making money from it, without the consent of the author?

From what I'm understanding from all this, Jo likes the site, obviously, since she has a link to it. What she doesn't like is the fact that they're publishing a book with all their information without her consent. The site just assumed they could publish the book and get away with it. I may be off, but this is what I'm understanding after skimming the news article from whence this came and reading everyone's comments.

It doesn't matter if you believe she has no reason for suing because they're HER characters, and she owns them. Plus, I'm sure only a fraction would actually buy all the books. I know I couldn't, I'm underage and certainly don't have a job. My parents don't really "get" HP like I do, so they wouldn't bother to buy BOTH.

cant figure out how to get on chat, but has anyone else been depressed yet happy on the anniverasry of James and Lily's death and the first "fall" of You-Know-Who?!

just wow. I didnt really believe SHE was suing at first, it seemed like the train thing, probably just WB using her name.... but I don't really get this. I agree with whoever said that if she had asked, they might have just stopped. but maybe she did and they refused...... but idk, if her encyclopedia is going to be about never-before released stuff and this one is about stuff thats already in the books, does it really matter.....?! but maybe it's just a general rule that people cant write "companion books" without the consent of the author. I mean they are her characters. :P

Well I think it's ridiculous that she should sue Lexicon. All their doing is posting already known facts in an organized manner. It's just a helpful way to have the info from the books organized; it's not an infringement upon her creativity or whatever they're claiming it to be. I guess it's a copyright infringement, but why should it be such a big deal to put something on paper that's already online anyway? Furthermore, this is in no way an attempt to hurt her own encyclopedia, because that will contain NEW info and is an expansion on the series as opposed to a catalog of them. This case disappoints me.

CHEESECAKIANS: MEET AT 6:00 PM EST (eastern standard time) AT THE SECOND NEWS STORY ON NOVEMBER 1ST. WE SHALL CELEBRATE HARRY POTTER DAY THERE. PASS ON THE WORD TO ALL CHEESECAKIANS!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

Wow jo, again, looking out for #1. I would like to say I cant believe she would do this, but seriously with the recent stuff this isn't even below her. Suing a FAN SITE, its not like the books are great literature, they're just extremely popular, Im glad Lexicon is still pulling through. Good luck guys I doubt they will win against a powerhouse like WB but you have to stick up for youre self...even if a giant wench queen on her own agenda pisses on her own fans.