well I hope everything gets settled

Ok, I love J.K. and everything, but she seriously needs to lighten up about this. Its an unofficial encyclopedia gathered from outside sources. So long as they put a disclaimer and give J.K. credit for writing the actual HP books, then I say drop it.

I emailed in!

Third? I agree with Jo on this. There's a big difference in free website content and people making money on her books and her copyrighted characters.

As much as I tend to disagree with frivolous lawsuits, I am actually finding myself in support of JKR on this one. And as much as I like the Lexicon, it just seems like really bad taste for them to do this to Jo. It's different from the Mugglenet book that came out, which was speculation as to the direction of the storyline of Book 7. Those were the opinions of the authors and they were free to publish it. This Lexicon book is presuming to take all the HP knowledge-base and present it in a context not only removed from the input of the original author, but explicitly NOT authorized or approved by the original author. It's taking someone else's intellectual property and making money off of it. It'd be like me writing a new Spiderwick book, or me directing a Pirates of the Caribbean movie without obtaining the proper licenses from the original creators, and by definition that's a violation of copyright law. Jo deserves to win this hands-down.

Dude Lexicon needs to shut up before they get all fansites shut down. If they accidentally talk their way into their site being ruled illegal, then mugglenet, fansites like Natalieportman.com and half of the internet will be illegal and shut down. Watch your step, Lexicon. You could even kill fanfiction and RPGs!

I hope it gets settled soon too. I feel bad for JKR,and i do like the hp-lexicon cause it has tons of info on Harry Potter. But all of the info is on the net so i really don't they need to publish an unofficial encyclopedia,since JKR is going to publish an official one sometime. I would be really upset if the Harry Potter fansites got shut down,then there would be no sites for me to look up stuff of Harry Potter. So the lexicon and VanderArk better think twice about doing this. I agree with you totally photobrad.

i hope she winss

I would hate it if authors online would be restricted in writing anything because of this...but it is Jo' book and I don't think the lexicon has the right to infringe upon her wish to not have an encyclopedia published.

It's unfortunate that this has turned into a big legal battle, but I side with JK. It's her story, she's planning on publishing an encyclopedia herself, why not just leave it to her? MuggleNet has their own encyclopedia online and that's great. Why can't Lexicon just leave theirs online too? The only logical reason they're trying to publish it is to get money. Personally I wouldn't buy it..first because JK's will obviously have far more indepth and new information, and secondly, the information is ALREADY ONLINE. not to mention a lot of it can be found in the books themselves. and now look what they've done..put all fansites at risk because of money. very sad.

@Kareen-Steven Vander Ark himself said it wasn't from outside sources. He is just copying the books and puting it in a different form. Jo has copyrights, She OWNS Harry Potter as much as you own your clothes. She mustn't relax even a bit and she must fight(unfortunatly, since if it was clothes no one would even think its not hers) for what is rightfully hers.

Thanks for the Post, Andrew. I think it's important the fandom undertand the potential impact this could have. I had been wondering why MN wasn't reporting on the major news points of the lawsuit the last couple of months. So thanks again...and for your willingness to post to TLC - Melissa's reports on this have been extremely thorough and informative. No need to duplicate the work, right?

hmm. well, i'm just worried that if steve van der whatever his face actually wins the lawsuit. i mean, what does jo mean when she says '...it will undoubtedly have a significant, negative impact on the freedoms enjoyed by genuine fans on the Internet..' no more fansites? limited freedom of fansites? no more mugglecast? that.would.b ite.the.big.one.

Ok, like I understand Jo's position on all this but what I don't get is why no fuss has been made about other unofficial published HP encyclopaedias. I own many. There's A-Z of Harry Potter, the Sorcerers Companion, the Potter Pensieve, Fact, Fiction and Folklore in Harry Potter and many more.... All these books are like encyclopaedias and they all made money on the side. Jo does have a right to stop the Lexicon if she wants but I can't understand why she is picking on them so much when they have done far more for HP fans than most of the other copycat writers have done. At the same time, I wish the Lexicon would drop the whole thing and smooth things over with Jo. Why don't they write books about the phenomenon as a whole and what it was like running such a popular site during the HP glory days instead?

I agree with everyone who is supporting Jo. People shouldn't have to spend money on this book if it is on a website. If the Lexicon does sell the book then the profit would go to charity because that is what Jo would want, but I'm glad Jo is taking a stand.

lexicon skanks! Jo definitely deserves the rights. To publish a book pertaining her OWN SERIES before a fansite does. This is ridikulus.

Jo has every right to sue these idiots. It's her story!!! Don't you people understand what the publication of this book would mean? Tons and tons of totally rubbish books. I think any book that GIVES information about the series should obviously be written by jo. Seriously people, you shouldn't look at this as immaturely as some of you have. Cuz you'll never understand it fully. Once you think about it very very hard, it totally makes sense. I don't want any encyclopedia that isn't written by Jo. This so rediculous. RDR is making a bad choice.

I think JKR should write something new instead of an hp encyclopedia. We've all read the books, quidditch through the ages and fantastic beasts and where to find them covered the more obscure areas, so why another expander on the series? I didn't like the companion books that much, and I think fresh material would be of more interest.

I agree with those of you who support Jo. She should have the rights to her own work and publish her own HP encyclapedia on Harry Potter. I think Lexicon is foolish to publish their work. If what everyone says is true, the HP fandom will suffer and the wonderful authors who write the fanfics and acknowledge JKR, will lose the freedom to write their beautiful stories. I hope Jo wins her case, for her sake and for the sakes of all of her loyal fans, myself included.

I agree with what tiassa said. If someone had taken some clothes from you, cut them up, stuck them back together again it would still be your clothes and noone would think differently. I think it's ridiculous that in this day and age when we are supposed to me civilised and respectful, people still go about expoliting things. I'm all for Jo to win, and if she doesn't there is something seriously wrong with this world.

poor Jo. As if she hasn't already had enough legal battles in her life...

Team Jo. Lexicon needs to back down. Yes, there have been other HP books written NOT by Jo-- but they weren't as blantanly a rip off as this. The other HP books that were written were things that analyzed the content of Harry Potter and attempted to make predictions or relations to other works. Why would Lexicon want to take away from Jo's work? Especially when it's going to contain things that were never even in the original books as well; if they publish it-- I'll boycott it.

I'm actually rooting for Lexicon on this one. It seems ridiculous to sue them when countless other guides and fan books have already been published. It's simply gathering information and organizing it into a book. It will be only fact-based, which is NOT STEALING. (IE: "Ron Bilius Weasley, born on this date, has this type of wand, etc and so on). How will it POSSIBLY hurt fans online if the content in the book is still available for free on the Internet? Lighten up and back off. I hope they win. It would make no sense if they lost this case.

Can you imagine if you devoted a whole chunk of your life to a book series, only to have an eccentric fan (whom you appreciated by the way) go against your trust and try to make money from your own copywrited work? I sympathize with Jo, all she wants to do is enjoy the time with her kids. Nobody likes legal battles.

i like that pic of her she looks really pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!anyone here wanna talk for a while?

hello anycheesecakeins wanna talk here its ginny or lily i was in a car crash forever ago! remeber me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

To Tarhisie

I want to talk but people are still commenting on this so I think we should go down one

To Tarhisie

huh im here

To Tarhisie

im gonna go no one want to talk!

how come when you click on the mugglenet link for jkrowling.com it's all black but when you type it in to the browser it looks like a desk?

@Tarhisie I agree with you. What I do not appreciate is J.K Rowling thinly veil threat against fan base sites. What she has to realize is that these very fan based sites have also help maintaining interest in her great books. It is great getting different points of views that only fans can come up with. Is she going to behave like Prince when he was demanding funds from his fan- based websites in order for them to continue using his likeness and songs and having You Tube remove home videos of babies dancing to his songs? Let's not forget about Usher when he tried to shut down fan-based sites because they did not like his new wife! Protect your creation, but at the same time do not step on the toes of those who help make your creation a success.

JO should sue the lexicon skanks!! It is her book not there!

I don't think Jo was threatening any fan sites in particular, but if by simply allowing a fan site to exist implies an author's consent for them to publish their own (unlicensed) works based on the author's world/works, then yes, all fan sites will be threatened, as she'll be required to crack down on the freedom we've enjoyed so far. Copyright laws limit what others can do with the intellectual property of any given author. To write a Star Wars book, you need permission and (paid) licensing from George Lucas. To make a Lord of the Rings movie you need the permission and licensing of the Tolkein Estate, who owns the copyright. Writing a book >>about

@PHOTOBRAD I agree to a degree. The Lexicon guy is writing what can be considered a reference book not another Harry Potter novel. You can find unauthorized guides and such for Star Wars such as ; The Unauthorized Star Wars Compedium, The complete guide to the movies,comic books,novels and more by Ted Edwards. The Ultimate Unauthorized Star Wars Trilogy Trivia Challenge. For Lord of the Rings fans you can find Worlds of the Rings; The Unauthorized Guide to the World of J.R.R Tolkien by Ian Lowson. The list goes on and on. We are talking about a simple guide or reference book that's all.

JKR is just being a b*tch. Selfish rich woman. People have the right to do that, and she wants to change the law because someone hurt her f*ucked up feelings. She's probably going through PMS

yeah, haven't been here in a while.....but this is not good...it's her story, a world SHE made....i mean, it's not good to publish it.... idk...it's her stuff, not ours...it's just ours to enjoy and contemplate...not take it away from her to this extent.

Voldywart... Why the heck are you even reading the HP books and going to mugglenet if you hate JKR? And i'm pretty sure that if someone took something you created, changed it a little, and sold it, you would be pretty dam pissed about it too... So why dont you put yourself into JKR's shoes. She devoted her ENTIRE LIFE to writing this series and then it's being ripped off by the HP Lexicon. And if you had some common sense, you would know that she doesnt need any more money if shes already richer than the queen of England. I hope she sues there a$$!

Good for her. You go Jo!! I support you 100%!!

Voldywart, why the heck are you here then? Just leave. It'll make the fandom a better place. I don't get how some of you could bad mouth Jo. Umm, aren't we here because of HER story? And chill people!! The fansites are not in danger of anything!! Stop making rumors! Honestly, some of these posts show what kind of "fans" you guys are. it's really sad.

I think JKR should win this one but I really don't see the point of making a HP encyclopedia unless it's for money. I mean you can find information on the Internet anyway, and even if she did add new information in her HP encyclopedia, it would end up online. @Voldywart stop b!t(hing about PMS. Go clean up your arguments and come back when you've dealt with your PMS-phobia.

@Voldywart-yeah you are totally right, she is a selfish rich woman. How else can you explain the fact that if she wins all the money she'll get from this and the scotish book goes to charity?very selfish of her.By the way, I was wondring...do you even know what PMS is? or did you just hear that it is a time when a woman gets angry?cause even for a d!mw!t like you,thats a strange thing to blame this on, considering this has been going on for a few monthes.

Wow, it really is amazing reading some of these posts -- especially ones defending what Vander Ark is doing. It's a very clear-cut issue -- publishing an encyclopedia for free online is ok because you're not profiting from JKR's copyright. Once you take that information and publish it, thus making money, you get into copyright violation. If the court takes the stance that "if it's ok for free, then it's ok for profit," all authors will have to crack down on things like fanfics, rpgs or online websites to protect their copyrights. The saddest part is that Rowling specifically told Vander Ark that she planned on publishing an encyclopedia herself in the future -- his publishing of this compendium would directly compete with that -- and he pushed ahead with it. Some could say that's greed on Rowling's part, but I feel like Vander Ark is trying to capitalize on something Rowling created. She is responsible for the creation of HP, he shouldn't profit from it. Of course she should feel upset and betrayed, she's been more than friendly with the owners of various fan sites around the net (more so than many other authors)... and now she's reaping the price of being too nice. What a sad statement about today's world.

I completely agree with you Gatorgirlie 100% of the way. Jo created the series for us to enjoy--NOT TO RIP HER OFF BY MAKING A PROFIT OVER IT. I think it is VERY pathetic of you people (who will remain anonymous....Voldywart) who think that the amazing JKR is acting like a rich, selfish beeyatch with a lazy arse and side with Vander Ark's opinion. It really shows how big of a fan you folks are. If you love Harry Potter, you devote yourself to JKR too!

To my understanding, the Lexicon book is a printed version of the website whereas Jo is planning to include backround information that is as of yet unreleased and only she knows in her book. Is this correct? If this is the case it would make her book much different than the Lexicon's, would it not? So if Jo's book has new information in it, everyone is going to buy it whether the Lexicon publishes their's or not. I don't understand exactly why only this book is being attacked when there are hundreds of other books about the Harry Potter series. The Ultimate Unofficial Guide series contains summeries of each chapter of every book. I own a book called A Muggle's Guide to the Wizarding World that incledes character descriptions, descriptions of places in the books, ect. It's a companion to the series which is what I think the Lexicon book is meant as. Why is that book allowed to be published but not the Lexicon's? I'm not attacking Jo and I don't have an opinion on all of this. I just am trying to understand exactly what's going on.

very true gatorgirlie! And for the people who don't understand why Jo would want to make an encyclopedia, it's sort of obvious. Everyone except you wants it. I'm mean come on people!! you call yourselves fans, but you think a book all about HP would be boring? seriously.

the article says that RDR thinks fans will enjoy this book and even Rowling will like reading it( or something like that, i think), however, i think that if you are a fan who knows what's going on with this book you wouldn't read it. simply because you are a fan. i mean, really, this book would seem only a mere shadow compared to an encyclopedia by JKR, even if we did have to wait years for it. isn't that what we've all done ? waited for the next Harry Potter book? i really think it would be worth it. and gryffondor_phoenix, that's what i thought at first, that it would be just another companion book, but the Lexicon would be publishing a book that has things about the characters and places and stuff that isn't in the HP books, and they would be making money off of it. also, with JKR's encyclopedia, there would probably be backstories to the characters who didn't get backstories in the HP books because they weren't relevant to the plot and\or didn't fit in. it would be so much different. and so much better, i think then any fna or fansite cold produce. i definitely think think that the Lexicon should not be allowed to make this book. anyway, a very happy birthday to roniadld here , too :~}

If you have any doubt that JKR should win this, you need to read the official declarations (the link to Leaky above takes you to them). These declarations clearly explain and provide evidence that: 1) JKR (and her lawyers) have asked all other encyclopedia type books to cease and desist (i.e. stop printing books) and have allowed books with new information and ideas about the HP world to keep publishing. 2) Lexicon previously stated in emails, on their website, and on other fan forums that publishing an encyclopedia without JKR's permission would be wrong. 3) JKR is not selfish since the profits from her encyclopedia will go to charity. I highly doubt Lexicon's profits would have been given to charity. I say "would have been" in my final point because I am sure that even if Lexicon were to win (which it won't), true fans wouldn't buy it on principle. If we have learned anything from the Harry Potter books, we have learned about Right vs. Wrong and Good vs. Evil. Lexicon and its publishers have been twisting the truth in their declarations to the court and have lied and changed their stories. Lexicon = Voldemort