Letter to Free Expression Network

On April 14, J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment are headed to New York Federal District Court in an important fair use case brought against RDR Books, a small Michigan publisher. The are using their unlimited resources to try to prevent RDR Books from publishinglibrarian Steve Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon. This 400-pagereference book is based on the extremely popular Harry Potter Lexicon website, which she herself praised and honored with a J.K. Rowling "fan site" award. Ms. Rowling, Scholastic Books and the creators of the Harry Potter movies have relied on it as a trusted reference source for more than seven years. As you can see from the attached London Guardian and New York Times articles, the plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction that would have, if granted, a chilling effect on authors, publishers and many others. They are also seeking a substantial damage award and significant attorneys fees.

In this trial a tremendously successful novelist demands the suppression of a reference guide to her works. Ms. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, asserts that this reference guide infringes both her copyright in the seven Harry Potter novels and her right to publish at an undetermined future time a reference guide of her own. She says the publication date of her contemplated book could be up to ten years out.

Ms. Rowling appears to claim a monopoly on the right to publish literary reference guides and other non- academic research relating to her own fiction. This is a right no court has ever recognized. It has little to recommend it. If accepted, it would dramatically extend the reach of copyright protection and eliminate an entire genre of literary supplements-third-party reference guides to fiction, which for centuries have helped readers better access, understand and enjoy literary works.

By extension it would threaten not just reference guides, but encyclopedias, indexes and other tools that provide useful information about literary works. Ms. Rowling's intellectual property rights simply do not extend so far under U.S. law. In order to win this landmark case, The Right to Write Fund, a project of the Center for Ethics in Action, is supporting the legal defense of the Harry Potter Lexicon. Although the Stanford University Law School's Fair Use Project has joined the case pro bono, RDR is bearing the significant cost up front costs of a New York trial attorney, another lawyer addressing trademark and Lanham Act claims, expert witnesses and other significant incidental expenses such as travel and court costs.

You can make a difference in this critical first-amendment case. Support this case and others like it with a check to the Center for Ethics in Action (CEIA)/Right to Write Fund, a public 501c/3 nonprofit at 150 Coyle Street, Portland, ME 04103. You can also donate over the Center for Ethics in Action's secure internet site at www.centerforethicsinaction.org.

For more information about Right to Write please email read@righttowrite.net or call 207 232-6365 or 510 595-0595.