A judge decided that J.K. Rowling would suffer “irreparable harm” if the Harry Potter Lexicon, a labor of love for an unpaid web writer, were to be published. Yes, this is a victory for J.K. Rowling, who at this point will never want for money for the rest of her life, but a serious blow to fans and readers everywhere.
I find it amazing and ludicrous that a fan’s companion work could be any kind of “threat” to an author who has already established herself and admits that she is “done” working on the series to begin with. In her mind, Harry Potter is “finished” and she will no longer be pursuing the storyline. As an established author, with an incredible fan base and readership, J.K. Rowling should have nothing to fear from fan-authored companion works. In fact, she should welcome such publicity and focus on her work; it can only bring more fans and readers to her.
I may have had some respect for the nobody author who wrote her first novel in coffee shops while her son slept in a stroller. But I have lost much of that respect in the last few months as I watched her misplaced lawsuit progress. Yes, she won the legal victory. But what damage did she do to fans and readers, in the long run? I hope it was worth it.
She could take a lesson or two from some other famous authors, like Neil Gaiman, who welcome and encourage fan companion works. He’s not hurting from such activity, that’s for sure.
Mike, there are two pretty distinct pools of thought on the intellectual copyright issue. One pool says no, no way am I going to allow my stuff to be shared, it’s MINE ALL MINE and if you don’t leave it alone I’m going to take my toys and go home, and the other pool that says, go ahead, share, enjoy, and tell your friends, because ultimately, what is most important is that people know who I am and are fans of my work because then I’m in like Flynn with them and will always have a fan base because of it. And I won’t be poor either!
I am in that second pool, as an author and as a fan. Authors who pull themselves so far away from fans that they alienate them is not a good business model, in the long run. Yes, she had a legal right to sue and to make a stink. But in the long run, coming to an agreement with this fan would have been a better solution; they could have both made money and the fans would have been very happy to have had access to the information (and would have gladly paid for it). Now it is gone, never to be available, because J.K. Rowling’s swollen ego wouldn’t let her see the big picture. This is a definite loss for readers and fans (and potential readers and fans).