|
|
 |
 |
JK Rowling Sues Harry Potter Fan
A Harry Potter fan faced JK Rowling in court last week. Mr. Vander Ark is a librarian who has read the Harry Potter books dozens of times. He liked the books so much that he started a web site where fans like him could talk about everything to do with Harry Potter and the author JK Rowling.
A publishing company asked Mr. Vander Ark if he would use the information on his website to write an encyclopedia guide to the Potter books. At first he was worried that it wouldn't be fair to Rowling to sell books about her ideas, but the publisher told him there wouldn't be a problem. Now the book is coming out, and Rowling is suing him in court.
She claims he stole her ideas, and that she wanted to write her own encyclopedia on Harry Potter. It's against the law to take someone else's writing and publish it without permission. But you are allowed to use short amounts of copy as long as you are creating something new and different with it. That's called fair use.
The judge in the case must decide whether or not this is a case of fair use. He has warned both sides that if the legal fight goes too long, it could wind up costing them more time and money than it's worth.
I'm Isaac and that's what happened in the arts this week.
Photo: AP
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
