The Fight for the Copyright

Google Image: Fight for the Copyright

"Harry Potter" Author Wins Copyright Claim

Summary

Google Image: Rowling vs Ark

One of the wealthiest authors in the world, J.K Rowling (writer of the world renowned Harry Potter books) has filed for a copyright lawsuit against a fan namely Steven Vander Ark for publishing a Harry Potter encyclopaedia. Rowling has successfully won the copyright battle when she had proven that Steven Ark’s, ‘Harry Potter Lexicon’ would cause her permanent harm as a famous author.

Rowling claims that Ark’s book was a mere rearrangement of her own material and that his work was so alike which simply meant plagiarism. Rowling says, “I think it's atrocious. I think it's sloppy. I think there's very little research”. She also adds that Ark’s action has stolen 17-years of her hard earn effort in publishing her work.

Link to theory: The Law of Copyright

It is no surprise why Rowling reacted to Ark’s work and has filed for lawsuit against him. The Law of Copyright shows that “patents, trademarks, and copyrights are all ways of protecting original creations” (Walker 1997). Walker mentions that when a work is created, it is patent; hence, an author has full rights to their own invention.

Walker asserts that when copyrighting, one is only allowed to use not more than 10% of a work be it a poem, paper or any other documentations. Additionally, the work has to be given proper credit to the author. However, there can be legal penalties, including fines, for use of copyrighted materials without permission, even when proper academic credit is given (Walker 1997). With regards to the issue, Ark certainly breached the Law of Copyright eventhough his intentions were good to create an easy-to-understand encyclopaedia for Harry Porter fans.

My opinion

Rowling’s rash action to sue Ark’s publisher, RDR Books was wise. Her hard work to produce a list of fantasy books that has gotten millions of readers’ attention ought to be credited and respected. Her creativity should be acknowledged. In Ark’s situation, he meant well by creating a book for fans but he should have gotten permission from Rowling. His act was unethical in terms of ethics in communication. “'But it's not illegal' is no excuse for failure to accept personal responsibility for your ethical choices” (Weber 1995).

Additional Reading

To avoid plagiarism or copyright felony, one can always use citation to credit a person’s work. In an article, The Importance of Citation by Judy Hunter (n.d), there are three reasons why citation is important.

• Ideas are the currency of academia
• Failing to cite violates the rights of the person who originated the idea
• academics need to be able to trace the genealogy of ideas

Reference

‘Harry Potter Author Wins Copyright Claim’, CBS News, viewed on 10 November 2008, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/entertainment/main4426302.shtml

Hunter, J n.d, ‘The Importance of Citation’, Grinnell College, viewed on 10 November 2008, http://web.grinnell.edu/Dean/Tutorial/EUS/IC.pdf

Walker, J 1997, ‘Intellectual Property in the Information Age: A Classroom Guide to Copyright’, University of South Florida, viewed on 10 November 2008, http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~jwalker/ip/ipdummie.html#special

Weber, J H 1995,’Ethics in scientific and technical communication’, WISENET Journal 38, viewed on 11 November 2008, http://www.jeanweber.com/newsite/?page_id=22