Giving Away Spoilers Isn't Copyright Infringement
from the oh-please dept
We pointed to some of JK Rowling’s questionable testimony in the case against a publisher of a guide book to the Harry Potter universe — where she made a bunch of emotional claims that had little to do with copyright. In wrapping up the case, she again made contradictory claims, backing away from earlier claims of the book being “wholesale theft” to saying that she wasn’t so against the book if it only didn’t quote so much of the book. But the much odder part of the case was the closing testimony from the lawyer representing Warner Brothers (who owns the Harry Potter IP rights), claiming that the real harm was that the Harry Potter Lexicon gives away spoilers and that people might say: “You know what? I guess I don’t really need the rest of the Harry Potter books because I just read the big giveaways.” First of all, that seems unlikely — but more importantly, giving away spoilers is not copyright infringement. Once again, it seems like WB/Rowling keep appealing to emotional arguments rather than anything having to do with the actual law.
Filed Under: copyright, guidebook, harry potter, harry potter lexicon, j.k. rowling
Companies: warner brothers
