He Cried. Are You Happy Now, JK Rowling?
You would think that someone with half of the world’s known money supply would be above such things, but JK Rowling and Warner Entertainment are in the process of suing a 50-year-old geek librarian for having the temerity to compile a Harry Potter encyclopedia.
The plaintiffs claim that the encyclopedia plagiarizes the Harry Potter books by quoting from them without adding enough new content to justify the borrowings. Apparently the redoubtable Ms Rowling also had plans of her own for producing a Harry Potter encyclopedia, and she feels that Steven Jan Vander Ark (to quote Dave Barry, I am not making that up; and please, Dave Barry, don’t sue me for quoting you like that) and his publisher are stepping on her well-groomed toes.
Mr. Vander Ark and some others already maintain the Harry Potter Lexicon website, which she had apparently approved of, and he was simply moving it to the next level. Why it’s okay as a website, but evil when translated into handy book form, I’m not sure. Why it is different from the large number of books that explain passages from Finnegan’s Wake, I’m also not sure, even adjusting for the quality of the writing and the depth of Ms Rowling’s pockets.
As to the question of plagiarism, one must ask whether it would be possible to publish a gloss on these books without quoting from them. I don’t personally see how, unless there are actual spells and incantations involved. American copyright law provides an exception to infringement for “fair use” of a text. And while Ms Rowling and Warner Entertainment assert that potential sales of the Potter books will be lost, it is difficult to imagine how. Would someone–a reasonable person, to use the typical legal standard–really forgo buying the Potter books after acquiring The Harry Potter Lexicon? If that’s true, wouldn’t it follow that the Merriam-Webster dictionary infringes on every work ever written in the English language? And if it does, can I join the suit?
Mr Vander Ark and people like him are the pilot fish to Ms Rowling’s Great White Shark. The relationship is symbiotic, and a person cannot attain the heights that Ms Rowling has without picking up a number of–hangers-on isn’t quite the right word–attendants. Their prosperity arises from hers and cannot take the place of hers. In my opinion, this suit is paranoiac and pointless, and she should have been above it.
It’s obvious that you don’t know much about the case, or about the people involved. Steve Vander Ark isn’t just a random fan. He’s a mini-celebrity in his own infamy, he’s been featured on a Harry Potter documentary that aired on cable television (he got more air time than Dan Radcliffe), and while he used to be loved, he’s now HATED by those in the Harry Potter fan base who know what’s going on.
You asked what the difference is between this and his website. That’s simple. JKR has always allowed (and even encouraged) fans to engage in their own works of creativity. Websites that didn’t charge money, fanfiction posted online with disclaimers, academic conventions, and even BOOKS that didn’t directly copy material except for analytical purposes. In fact, many books have been published ABOUT the Harry Potter books. Those are “fair use”. JKR gave the Lexicon website her blessing because it’s an awesome website, and Steve wasn’t charging people to use it. Some people were angry that he was using advertising banners to make money on the website, but JKR let that go, so we let it go. The book, however… Steve planned on charging approximately $25 per copy. That’s an expensive book. In addition, JKR has been planning for a LONG TIME to write her own encyclopaedia. She’s told us this, AND she’s said that all the money (like the money from her other companion books) will go to charity. And finally… the content of the Lexicon really IS just rearranged facts from the books. There is NO analysis. No academic references. It’s a straight-up rearrangement of the published canon. Steve doesn’t have a creative bone in his body, but he’s very good at being a rather annoying parrot. That made a lovely website, an annoying mini-celebrity, but a big problem when he took it too far.
I’ve known Steve for a while. He’s been planning this for ages, and we (the majority of the intelligent fandom) have told him not to. We WARNED him not to do this. JKR has been exceptionally generous towards her fans, giving us her blessing to play in the universe she created with very few restrictions, and Steve is ruining it for everyone. He knows it, too. He received several letters from Rowling, asking, then telling, then demanding that he not publish the book. JKR tried to be nice. She TRIED to be reasonable with him. I’ve watched this unfold, and I know how it developed. Believe me, Rowling is NOT the person who deserves scorn in this case.
If you’d ever met Steve, you’d quickly find out that he has the manners of an ill-trained only-child with rich parents. Give him an inch, and he takes a mile. He’s creepy, he’s out of touch with reality, and he thinks he’s above the rules. He’s an arrogant, egotistical, self-absorbed jerk. He cheated on his wife with a fangirl half his age and was fired from his job as a librarian at a Christian school for being caught in an adulterous act. He tried to convince several known fan-artists to illustrate his Lexicon book, leading them to believe that JKR had approved it. One of my friends even signed a contract before we told her that JKR hadn’t actually given Steve permission to publish. She’d been totally unaware of that. She had to get a lawyer to get out of it because she didn’t want her good name tarnished in the lawsuit. Steve has been spewing dishonesty all around, even to the point where he was happy to let other people take the fall with him, without ever letting them know the truth of the situation until it was too late.
What’s really blatant is that Steve’s got this attitude like he’s supposed to own Harry Potter now that Rowling has “quit”, as he put it. You should have heard him talking at the two conventions last summer. He’s not a fan. He’s power-hungry.
The fans who KNOW what’s going on are supporting JKR 100%. If you knew the inside story, you’d be supporting Rowling, too. She created something, and after being turned down again and again by publishers, she finally got her break. Harry Potter is her own creation, and she has ALL rights to it. We’re not going to abandon her because she’s laying the smackdown on Steve, who is anything but “just a fan”. Steve has been asking for this, and he deserves the embarrassment. He’s got no job, and he’s being supported by his mistress in London. I feel bad for her, actually. I’ve known her for some time now, and one of my closest friends has known her even longer. Steve has taken her for a ride and strung her along. Anyway, trust me… you’ve got this whole thing wrong. JKR isn’t attacking “the little guy”. She’s not ruining her fan-base. In fact, if she loses, her entire fandom will lose. We want her to win this. And regardless of the outcome… Steve will be shunned from the fandom community for the rest of his days.
Anyway, please understand that this isn’t a “David and Goliath” case like you seem to think it is. There’s a lot more too it, and a lot of back-history between JKR and Steve. I’m glad you’re so quick to jump on JKR and support Steve, but really, and I hate to say this, but you probably don’t know a tenth of it.
Comment by Inside Info — April 17, 2008 @ 9:48 am
Wow. Thanks for a very interesting and informative comment. In fact, I’d like to expand on your remark that I “probably don’t know a tenth of it” and say that I probably don’t know one one-thousandth of it. My post came solely from reading the account in The New York Times, and the account on CNN, it turned out, was much more damning of Mr Vander Ark using only his own admissions.
From what you’ve written, it seems like Ms Rowling may actually have a case. I got the sense from the article in The Times that his Lexicon gave interpretations and explanations for selected names and passages from the books. If he did less than that, if he merely “rearranged facts from the books” without interpreting, explaining, and expanding, then he has no defense, and she and Warner Entertainment will carry the day.
I still think that Ms Rowling could have overlooked it without damage. A similar book by her would be of infinitely more value to a fan of the Potter series (and, for the record, I am not, although my wife and son are) than anything anyone else could produce. And while I’m not a fan of the books myself, I do have a great deal of respect for Ms Rowling and her climb from nowhere to worldwide success. It is an extraordinary story, and she achieved it through talent (even though the books aren’t to my taste, I do think she is talented) and perseverance. Whatever “mini-celebrity” Mr Vander Ark has achieved, he is an ant standing next to a titan.
Now, I will also admit that it is all well-and-fine of me to discuss this from my sinecure in the bottom of the bottomless pit of obscurity, but I think that she could have ignored it just as easily. Suing him only raised him up in the world and gave him publicity. Astute fans such as you would studiously avoid his book, and the fair-weather fan won’t be interested. Meanwhile, the seven volumes of the series will continue to sell and to cast their spell for quite some time yet, and Ms Rowling’s authoritative encyclopedia will sell in the tens of millions overnight.
That being said, you’ve given me a lot to ponder and to appreciate. This is obviously an issue of great importance to you, and I respect that and respect your comment here. It was well written and well considered. I love getting comments like yours. And maybe the next time I’m tempted to pop off about a news story I’ve just stumbled across, I’ll remember to take a little more care and to look a little deeper before I write than I did in this case.
Thanks.
Comment by Len — April 17, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Thank you for listening. I’m passionate about the case because I really do know the people involved. Steve used to consider me one of his friends before I finally told him that he’s p*ssing everyone off, that he was pushing his luck, and that if he knew what was good for him, he’d stop being an idiot. A lot of people said the same thing, and he didn’t listen.
Steve said that he’d add “some” analysis to his Lexicon content (which, on the website, is pretty much straight-up encyclopaedia-style content), but there’s almost no evidence of that. When asked what he was putting in for analytical/academic content, he really couldn’t produce much of anything to show. In fact, the “analysis” things he did manage to show were often incorrect, including a couple of Potter-universe word derivations and so on. Still, encyclopaedia stuff, not academic analysis. There’s almost no original content. If you want, go check out the Lexicon website. You can see exactly what he’s got.
Anyway, I hope I didn’t come off sounding like I was being condescending, but I’ve seen so many articles and blog posts about this, supporting Steve like he’s some innocent geek who was caught up in his fan-ish exuberance, written by people who have no idea. They (like you) didn’t mean to say anything wrong, but there’s just so much back-story to this that I can’t even begin to write in a blog post. As I said, the history between Steve and JKR goes back ages. Yes, he looks like an ant compared to a giant in the public eye, but from the inside, it’s personal. That’s quite possibly the main reason JKR was so upset. She knew Steve fairly well, and HAD officially recognized his wonderful website. They’ve met, and corresponded, and JKR has appreciated his work on the website for a long time. Remember JKR’s comment that this felt like a “betrayal”? That’s because it WAS personal. He really did betray her.
Steve could have made a good show of himself if he’d used his data-compiling talents differently. He *was* well-liked within fandom for quite a while. When I say “mini-celebrity”, that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a superstar within the fan circles. It’s a limited audience, but huge status within that audience, if that makes sense. There are a lot of people involved in the Harry Potter fan universe, and they’re all on pins and needles waiting to see how this will play out. Academic and intellectual property is a HUGE commodity, and JKR’s creation should still belong to her, no matter how much money she’s made. She’s earned it HERSELF, and she’s been amazingly generous with it.
Anyway, thank you for considering a deeper look into news pieces before forming opinions on them. Everything in this world is complex, and this is no exception.
Cheers!
Comment by Inside Info — April 17, 2008 @ 11:21 am
Your comments are always welcome here, and your earlier one was far from being condescending.
I hadn’t much considered the personal element, and that does put things in a different context. Ironically (or paradoxically, to use the preferred British usage), the epipraph I chose for my recently completed novel is from Jean Renoir and his movie “The Rules of the Game.” “The terrible thing about life is this,” the character Octave (played by Renoir himself) intones at one point. “Everyone has his reasons.” True here as well as anywhere, I guess.
I fully understand the kind of celebrity that Mr Vander Ark attained in Harry Potter circles. They are the big wheels at the conferences, and it easy for such people to begin to think too much of themselves. Some folks start to see themselves as stars when they are really pieces of tinsel reflecting the light of a star. It happens. Other people handle it better and keep things in perspective.
Now, that I think about it, it could make the basis for a story. Hmmmm. Now I have to thank you all over again. I think you’ve helped me recognize a nice subtle and varied story and theme. Cool.
Comment by Len — April 17, 2008 @ 11:36 am
[...] @ 8:24 am Tags: JK Rowling, Steven Jan Vander Ark In yesterday’s installment, I wrote some off-the-cuff remarks about the JK Rowling and her lawsuit against a once-and-future sycophant over a…. Now, this is a subject that I hadn’t thought about much, and, in fact, until yesterday, I [...]
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