Topic: Considering what our main focus used to be...

[Jianna]

...i.e., fan fiction/roleplay, I thought this article and its possible ramifications might be interesting.

Harry Potter case illustrates blurry line in copyright law

[Todd]

Interesting. Looks like the fan committed the ultimate sin and tried to make money off his work. Not really surprising that a lawsuit happened.

[Archelous]

I'm a little on each side of this.

It seems kind of silly considering how many series and books have encyclopedia's published that aren't written by the author of the books, so it seems rather silly.

[eldrene_sedai]

wasn't rowling expected to write the encyclopedia for her series?it only turned nasty when Ark's work was to be published--would it have made a difference for Ark? doesn't his website (the lexicon) make money? the article says that even the author uses the site for reference...guess it must be different when everything's in paper..

don't get me wrong, though..rowling had every right to sue...Ark and his publishers should have asked for rowling's approval. doing otherwise was an insult.

[Todd]

I'm a little on each side of this.

It seems kind of silly considering how many series and books have encyclopedia's published that aren't written by the author of the books, so it seems rather silly.

Those were probably at the blessing of the author, and a licensing fee was probably worked out before hand. Anytime you start making money of somebodies Intellectual Property things get a little dicey, and the courts usually side with the creator.