Tag Archives: Steve Vander Ark

Sep 08

Of course we knew how it would end.

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JK Rowling, having scored one for the BIG GUY, has won her copyright case against Steven Vander Ark and his publisher RDR Books.

You, faithful Normalinauts, may remember I opined on this subject most vehemently once…

To this day it remains one of the busiest, in terms of site views, we’ve ever had here at ol’ Normality Restored. Most of that thanks to a group of…let’s call them “fans“…of Rowling’s who thought I was wrong, deadly wrong.

In any event, I think we all knew where this case was headed, right? I mean, there was no way a small publisher in Michigan (hint: if you are a publisher in Michigan, then by definition you are small) was going to beat the massed forces of darkness known as the Warner Brother’s Legal Team.

So, no hardcopy HP Lexicon for us. Now on to things that actually matter.

Apr 21

Beating a Dead Horse – One More Post About Rowling/Vander Ark/Fair Use

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Well, the trial is “over” in that, no more evidence will be submitted or arguments made. Although, both sides will continue to file briefs, and the actual verdict isn’t expected for several weeks. So at least the crying on the stand parts of this story are done with.

Now I’m going to excerpt a bit of Neil Gaiman’s most recent journal post:

Lots of emails from people asking me to comment on the JK Rowling/ Steve Vander Ark copyright case. My main reaction is, having read as much as I can about it, given the copyright grey zone it seems to exist in, is a “Well, if it was me, I’d probably be flattered”, but that obviously isn’t how J.K. Rowling feels. I can’t imagine myself trying to stop any of the unauthorised books that have come out about me or about things I’ve created over the years, and where possible I’ve tried to help, and even when I haven’t liked them I’ve shrugged and let it go.

Given the messy area that “fair use” exists in in copyright law I can understand the judge not wanting to rule, and assume that whatever he says the case will head off to the court of appeal.

It goes on for a bit…I suggest that you read the whole thing.

Anyway, in a little while we’ll know which way the judge has ruled…and then whichever side loses will appeal, then we’ll wait a while for the appellate case, then that decision, then another appeal, then (I’m betting) the Supreme Court. My guess is that this will turn out to be one of the formative cases for Copyright law for the next 100 years.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – The Longest Time

Apr 14

An Open Letter John Buechler, Steve Vander Ark, JK Rowling, and Warner Brothers.

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Dear John, Steve, JK, and WB,

How are you guys?

I hope you’re all feeling well.

I understand that there are currently some tensions between Ms. Rowling and Mr. Vander Ark and Mr. Buechler and Warner Brothers, and I was hoping that I might lend a word or two in the hopes that everyone can reach some sort of compromise.
Now Ms. Rowling, in the declaration that was filed in District court against Mr. Vander Ark you said that you were “very frustrated that a former fan has tried to co-opt my work for financial gain.”

My response to this is fourfold:

1. Take your head out of your ass.

2. I doubt, given the time and effort it would take to compile the HP Lexicon, that the man you are suing would call himself a “former fan.”

3. Exactly how much money do you have? No, that wasn’t a rhetorical question, I really want to know how much you have because I am willing to bet that even if the HP Lexicon were published and sold a million copies, Mr. Vander Ark (the Lexicon’s author) still wouldn’t have 1 tenth of the money you have, so let’s just all admit that he isn’t really taking money out of your already very deep pockets.

4. And finally, please try and understand that what Mr. Vander Ark (and others, who write fan-fiction, for instance) is doing will only help to continue the life of the books/universe you created and, in the long run, will mean that more of your books will sell (to future generations), which will, I’m sure you are aware, equate to you making even more money so…please take your head out of your ass.

My assumption is that this whole lawsuit was really just a way for you and your publishers to force Mr. Vander Ark to cut you in on the profits of the HP Lexicon…which brings me to John Buechler and Warner Brothers.

So Mr. Buechler co-wrote and directed a film called Troll which was released in 1986. An interesting bit of trivia about this movie, the main character is named Harry Potter Jr. Now I’m willing to admit that maybe Ms. Rowling never saw the movie. I mean, it isn’t like Harry and Potter are ridiculously obscure names in the English language, but…there are more similarities between Mr. Buechler’s film and Ms. Rowling’s books.

So you, Warner Brothers, have threatened Mr. Buechler with a lawsuit if he moves along with production on a remake of the film, claiming that you will “protect your rights” or something. Now I’m no legal scholar here, but I don’t exactly understand how you can “protect” the name of a character when that same name occurred in someone’s work a decade before is showed up in the work you now distribute. Unless you have a time machine tucked in the corner of a lot somewhere and you plan to go back to 1985 and stop Buechler from writing his script, I’m not sure exactly how else you can “protect your rights.”

Seriously WB, where the hell are you getting off?

Look, the history of the written word is a history of theft and plagiarism. Shakespeare…fucking Shakespeare…”borrowed” from mythological and historical sources for nearly every one of his plays. Now I’m not calling you a plagiarist, Ms. Rowling, but what I am saying is that you can’t try and pass yourself off as having never read, seen, or heard anything ever. It’s pretty well documented that you “came up with the idea while on a train from Manchester to London” or whatever. But you didn’t live in a vacuum, no one does. So for WB to threaten legal action against Buechler for possibly using a character he wrote 10 years before you wrote a character with the same name just seems to be the most ironic thing I’ve ever heard.

And, of course, you, Ms. Rowling, and WB, have had a fairly large amount of court dates over the years. I totally understand the need to protect a piece of intellectual property like HP. I get it. People want to take a bite out of that shiny apple any way they can. But at a certain point, one stops becoming the victim and starts becoming the victimizer.

So please, Ms. Rowling, for the sake of what’s left of your already money-tainted soul, drop the suit. Warner Brothers, I know it’s hard, being as your a movie studio and all, but try and realize that you are not god, did not invent sliced bread, and stop being such a big pile of dick wagging douche bags. Mr. Buechler, I hope you produce your remake and I hope that the main character is named Harry Potter Jr. And Mr. Vander Ark, I hope you get to release the book that you’ve poured your time and work into.

Love,
Kilian