I saw this story on CNN and all I could think about was Ridiculous Press and Martha Stewart. Apparently some Harry Potter fan, Steven Vander Ark, wants to publish a Harry Potter lexicon encyclopedia, and J.K. Rowling, the author of the Potter books, is preemptively suing for copyright infringement. Unlike the 1L first semester memo, there isn’t a defensive claim of parody and J.K. Rowling claims that publishing Vander Ark’s encyclopedia would infringe on her potential market share as she plans to publish her own encyclopedia. Rowling commented that if Vander Ark’s lexicon is published, “I’m not at all convinced that I would have the will or the heart to continue with my encyclopedia,” she said. She also noted that she has stopped working on a new novel because of this case. For any of you that doesn’t have a job yet, loves Harry Potter, and couldn’t get enough of the memo problem this year, here’s your opportunity to move to New York and volunteer your expansive knowledge of copyright law to help Rowling.
Move over Martha Stewart, Harry Potter is up for next year’s 1L memo
April 15, 2008 by tmg