Harry Potter and Copyright Law

Jay Dougherty, one of the contributors to the Law and Magic volume, is quoted in this thr.com article about the "Harry Potter Lexicon" lawsuit. He points out that a crucial question is the transformative nature of the use of the original materials.

In determining whether use of copyrighted materials is "fair use" a court looks at four factors:

1. the purpose and character of the use
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market.

Has Mr. van der Ark "transformed" or created something new out of the materials Ms. Rowling created? Or has he just copied hers?

But another question is the effect that the Lexicon will have on Ms. Rowling's sale of her proposed Lexicon or Encyclopedia. Will avid Potterites fail to buy her title because they've bought Mr. van der Ark's?

I don't know much about the first question; I haven't examined the Lexicon website that closely. But I can venture an answer to the second, having been around some Potterites. No. I cannot believe that those folks wouldn't buy ANYTHING Ms. Rowling writes. And after this lawsuit, they'll be even more curious to see what her book contains, and perhaps much less interested in the RDR title. So there.