Dumb Ass!

I feel a bit bad for him, it must have been a lot of work to make the lexicon, but he can't publicate it as a book. I thinks he's still a big fan of Jo.

BURNNNNNN steve BURNNNNNNN. Why don't you go cry like a little baby again?

I'm number 4!!!!!!! Feel sorry for him, he just wanted to share the info with everyone, but it is her work and she has the right over it. SHUT UP ALEX!! Thats rude! Why don't you go cry like a baby you moron!

MC should be interesting this week...

Good to hear that he's doing another book. Sounds like that one won't cause any trouble to him. I'm with Jo on the case, but SVA is neither stupid or evil - he just had a different opinion.

Don't be so crude at him, he didn't mean any harm.

"I'm glad it's finally over". It's his fault the whole thing started. I really don't like him.

Oh come on purplechoco, as if he didn't have it coming for him. He goes and cries about how he "doesn't feel part of the fandom". Well nuh dah. You're going against JK Rowling. She's like our god, what did he expect? Us all to cheer him on about how fantastic he is for fighting against that money stealing excuse for an author. I did feel sorry for him at one stage, but it's got the point where I can't even pity him anymore. He's been totally rejected by the fandom and he's deserved everything he's got.

PEOPLE ARE YOU HAVING TEENAGE ANGST?I MEAN FIRST WARNER BROTHERS NOW JKR, I MEAN YOU ARE DESTROYING EVERYTHING.ARE YOUR STUPID OR SOMETHING.

ANGSTANGSTANGSTANGSTANGST . what?

It would suck to write a book about every detail in the Potter series and then have to pay a fine on top of it not getting published. Come on, guys, you used to love him. He wanted to give you a book and you want him to die?

Your kidding....ANOTHER BOOK? Already? Wow, that was a really fast comeback!

i think it is funny how he was in the thrid movie interviewed about the special features and stuff. i have only been on the lexiicon to see the layout of the Dursley's. and COME ON SVA!!! HOW COULD JKR LOSE????? SHE IS JKR!!!!

Serves him right. I'm glad to hear that Jo finally won the case! I think she has all the right as the author of the book to decide whats done with the series. Anyway, shouldn't have SVA/RDR thought about whether their book violates copyright? Being the founder of the Lexicon, Steve should have known that Jo wanted to make her own encyclopaedia, with all the little details not found in the books and loads of background information, right? But no, he still goes ahead and creates his OWN encyclopaedia, which is basically the Lexicon in book form. That's a bit dumb, really, because anyone with Internet access can just go online and get the information for FREE. Also, Jo's book was supposed to be sold for CHARITY, whilst the profit from HIS version would just benefit him and the publishers. I'm extremely glad that Jo won. Hopefully, this will mean that she'll be writing her encyclopaedia soon (though its entirely up to her when she wants to start)! :D

He cost her far more than that in lawyers and her own time. She had to travel and be away from her kids for this trial, so yeah, I think the fine was scaled to what he could afford and appropriate.

Am I the only one who is seriously missing the online Lexicon? I mean, I totally agree with the court's desicion, and it was totally wrong for a so-called fan to go to court over such a thing, but I really, really need the online version. I used it several times daily and now I'm lost. It's very hard to check small facts in the books themselves because it's hard to remember where said fact was. Even if/when JK writes her encyclopedia, it won't be so point-and-click easy to access as the HP Lexicon. My hope is that Steve realizes that there's no need to be a baby about the court decision and puts the lexicon back up for those of us that really need and appreciate it.

Ahh finally over.Congrats JO.Justice was served.SVA should owe her more becasue of her expensives but oh well.I'm glad i never used that lexicon.

it says it all right there in his comments... "my hope all along was that we'd find an amicable way to settle this" not that the judge would settle in his favor... not that legally he felt he was in the right... but that they would settle amicably which to me says that what he was interested in was $$. counting on the fact that Jo has the money to make a legal problem go away instead of fight it. it's a shame

Congrats to Jo/WB for winning...and congrats to Steve for moving on. I think the book he's writing now will be a big help for Potter fans who decide to go to the UK (plus this upcoming book of his explains why Andy said he walked past Steve in his Rm.3428 vlog!) Imagine, this lawsuit uprooted their lives for quite a bit of time. It's over and now they can move on. And by the way, there are still ways of finding the Lexicon online. You just can't go to the main page of it. Instead try: hp-lexicon.info/index-2.h tml and you'll find it.

Don't hate on Steve, he just made a big mistake. Everyone does that sometimes. And lol haripoter, if I've ever seen teenage angst it's when someone writes in ALL CAPS LOCK LIKE THIS. ;) I call it "book five harry and the caps locks of rage."

You guys are idiots. Steve cried? GET WITH IT, so did JKR. God, he truly is a fan. Look, he's writing another book... Poor guy.

"The newspaper notes that Vander Ark is currently in England where he's working on a new book which visits real-life locations placed in the Potter series" OMG is he serious!? It seems to me like he just wants to make some quick cash out of the HP franchise. Plus he would have received an advance from the publishers and they're still going to want a book from him.

I can't believe after all of this he still wants to go out and write another HP-themed book.

what a dumbass. seriously, why not write something creative of his own instead of stealing from jo. if he is such a big fan then why is he trying to screw her over and take money away from her. it is her books, her world, her creation, not his, so he should not cash in on her genious. what a jerk.

It serves him right to lose, but I certainly don't hate him. He just made bad choices (VERY bad choices) about what he wanted to do to make money. I actually strongly dislike him at the moment, but I think it'll blow over. Ha ha.

I'm with Steve. The "he only did it to make money" argument is pathetic, the reason to do most things is money.

Umm all of you must be lost. You are all saying (ok not all of you but most) That he just wants to cash in on Harry. But how many books came out about HP before HBP? I mean even are dear Mugglenet has a book out do they not? All Steve was trying to do was add a little more for us. And I think it's great that he is trying to give us all a little more in site to our beloved HP. Lexicon was and is still a great site. I love going to it. I still haven't gotten through everything that is on the site, but it's still a great site. Sorry but that's just my thoughts.

wHO THE ffucckk DOES VANDER ARK THINK HE IS?!? AND HE'S GONNA WRITE A BOOK IN ENGLAND ABOUT SOME SITES IN THE POTTER BOOKS... DOES HE FREAKIN' THINK HE'S GONNA BE THE NEXT JK ROWLING OR SOMETHING???!?

wHO THE ffucckk DOES VANDER ARK THINK HE IS?!? AND HE'S GONNA WRITE A BOOK IN ENGLAND ABOUT SOME SITES IN THE POTTER BOOKS... DOES HE FREAKIN' THINK HE'S GONNA BE THE NEXT JK ROWLING OR SOMETHING???!?

The bullies who 'spew' rancor at Mr. VanderArk are acting like Dudleys! You kick an avid fellow fan when he's down, call him a rat, when all he was trying to do was bring his vast knowledge of the Potter world to fruition. (That really reveals who are the children in this crowd.) I side with Jo on this, but lets face it...it was a fine-line decision, even for the judge. I admire Steve's enthusiasm and knowledge, and I think he's brave to admit defeat and move on without bitterness. He's an honorable fan, not a sheep following the rabid crowd.

i think he has a lot of nerve- he does all of this to jkr, keeps her away from her kids, mekes her go through with defending HER creation, wastes court time, then the minuite he possibly can trys to find a DIFFERENT way of gaining some money out of someone elses hard work and creativity?! after she has just put up with all of the stress of this case, he is going to basically screw her over again...pathetic....if he was a true fan, he would respect the person who created harry potter (...and i dont mean hero worship or anything like that, before anyone thinks that). thats what a true fan would do, further proof that this is all about money to him

www dot hplex dot info

Even though I am a fan of her work, I believe that JK Rowling is a hypocrite. She says that she loves her fans and their work and then turns around and sues them. She always says that she supports fanfiction and sues the people trying to publish fanfiction to give to her as a GIFT. The Lexicon was only trying to help her. They were NOT making up new stuff. They were only taking information straight from the book and giving it to her. That way, all she had to do was add in her own notes. My friend worked on the encyclopedia for the Lexicon and she explained to me their true intentions. JK Rowling is turning into another example of "absolute power corrupts absolutely." If she wanted to get on a role, why doesn't she sue other works, such as: SPARKNOTES version of Harry Potter Looking for God in Harry Potter Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias, and Particularities Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices (Updated) And so many more? Why the Lexicon? Why now? They have been around from the beginning supporting Jo. When they only want to give her a gift to help her. Why Jo, Why?

Once Steve signed on with RDR, THEY made decisions regarding how far to take the case - not him. He couldn't have backed out even if he'd wanted to from early on.

I wish people like chaosLydia would go to school and learn about intellectual property rights and copyright law. You all think you know more than a judge does about these matters? You don't. Steve could have written many different types of books based on Harry Potter and used excerpts within the law of fair use, but he did not. He practically cut-and-pasted all his "work" from the Potter books...and that's a violation of copyright law. Jo has EVERY RIGHT to protect her work. In fact, she has made it much easier for authors everywhere to protect their intellectual property. Fanfiction for the sake of posting it for your friends is questionable at best (legally)...but the minute you try to make money off of it, you are in violation of copyright law. She created those characters. She created the world. You want to be a big writer? Get your own damned characters and create your own world. Trust me, very few authors consider copyright violation to be a gift or take it as a compliment. It's like plagiarism. It's stealing. I'm very sad that so many people are resorting to name calling to justify Jo's position. Stick to the facts, people. It was a violation of the law and a judge said so. The fact that so few people understand this is scary to people like me who make a living from our words.

Hang on. What most everyone here seems to foget is the very idea that everything about Harry Potter came from Jo's imagination. Once she puts it into words it is copywrited, meaning no one can use her EXACT wording without giving her credit in said publication. Anything that is written by anyone is automatically copywrited, period. But the thing is you can not copy write an IDEA. So the very idea of a story about a girl who goes to a wizarding school to learn magic she never knew she had and in the meantime battles the ultimate evil is legally okay to write. There is absolutely NOTHING Jo can do about that. It seems though, Lexicon does have excerpts that are exact and if I remember correctly, Jo was credited. If Steve Vander Ark was trying to pass off a book as an encyclopedia in his own words with properly credited excerpts from Jo, I don't see the problem. Don't get me wrong, I think Jo has a brilliant mind and imagination and I am grateful she allowed us into that, but if she's trying to control what others do with her IDEA...that is wrong. Legally wrong. Sorry.

crud - copy write / copyright... he said, she said; you say tomayto I say tomahto.... I stand corrected, it is copyright. My apologies. I'd like to add though, if this Vander Ark individual indeed was passing off material in this book from only copy and pasted material from Jo's work as his, legally he was in the wrong and the verdict was just. But again, you can not copyright an IDEA. Otherwise Jo wouldn't have been able to write Harry Potter herself.

another effing book?!

Hannah, you're not exactly right...but you've got the general idea. There is a part of the law that covers derivative works. If it is a blatant rip-off (and not, say, a parody like Spaceballs is to Star Wars) there *can be* copyright violation in a story about a young girl wizard who...etc. That's a harder case to prove, but it's still covered and can be, at the very least, challenged. But, let's be honest...how many publishers are going to touch a book that is a blatant rip-off of something that's already "been done." Unless a writer can put a fresh spin on something, then no one would be interested outside of posting it for free on the Internet. As to the crediting, that's only part of the law. It has to do with the percentage of work credited to an outside source and I've read upwards of 91% of Lexicon's book was lifted straight from Jo. That is an unacceptable percentage. Obviously. You are right that IDEAS cannot be copyrighted and that all work is copyrighted the minute a writer writes it. My post is copyrighted and cannot, under the law, be excerpted at someone else's blog or website without my permission, except under the guidelines of fair use. So is yours!

At least he's being a good sport about it. Jo's said since at least the year 2000 that she was going to "probably" make an encyclopedia and to "accept no substitutions!" Someone claiming to be as big a fan of hers as Steve, they should have known that. And respected that.

I still fail to completely understand why other encyclapedias haven't been challenged and this one has, but that really doesn't matter now. It's just my opinion; only that of the judge counts for anything. I really hoped that posters would have had more maturity than to attack SVA like this, however. But I suppose I shouldn't have had such high expectations.

Pottersoccermom: Thank you for your obvious insight - I truly appreciate it. Trust me, I am thankful for copyright laws and intellectual property rights (and yes, I am fully aware that each of these posts fall under the copyright laws.) I agree with you that anyone who would write something that is a blatant rip-off of a wildly successful series would be crazy to publish it, but they do exist. Ever hear of the Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimo? Charlie Bone is a 12 yo magical being who is sent to an academy by his awful aunts. His 'power' is someone who can converse and visit with people in photographs. He makes friends and enemies along the way in searching for his missing father. Sound vaguely familiar? It screams Harry Potter within each page...yet it still was published. My argument is if Vander Ark was to write an encyclopedia using his own words and properly crediting Jo's words within its text should be okay to do. As it is, I'm understanding that wasn't the case - and as I said before, the verdict was just.

http://hogwartsradio.com/ episodes/HR09-09-2008.mp3

It's not right for Steve to be treated like the world's biggest ass hole for doing this. Yeah, Steve violated her copyright, but that doesn't mean he is a bad person. I left the fandom for a bit, and when I came back and heard about the lawsuit, I was shocked. But I never thought that he would be shunned by all his friends. I never thought Leaky would completely sever ties with the guy. People literally stopped being his friend as a result of this incident. Jo is extremely important, but she is NOT god, and not someone I would stop a friendship over (and, NO, I am not saying EVERYONE has an altar in their closet containing a statue of Jo whose feet they kiss every night, nor am I saying everyone was best buds with Steve). He is in no way a jerk for writing another book either; MuggleNet's done it, and Mellisa from Leaky is doing it, and so have a bagillion others. They definitely aren't jerks. He was an amazing fan--extremely dedicated an knowledgeable, and I will not stop respecting and liking him because of this, and will not stop listening to old PotterCasts with him on it. Also, Jo didn't do this for the money, as all of her's is going to charity--she did this to protect all authors' copyrights. The money obviously would not have been a factor anyway; the profits from his Lexicon would in no way affect the money from her encyclopedia.

Hannah, I totally hear you. You're 100% right. I haven't heard of the Charlie Bone series at all, but I'll keep an eye out for it. You're right...Lexicon could have written the book if he'd just relied more on his own writing and less on Jo's. Glad to know I'm not the only one who respects this law!

This shouldn't have ever been a case to take to court. He didn't infringe on any copyright law because he gave JK Rowling all credit for the material contained in the books. He never said that any of the material was his own or anything like that. I'm so sick of JKR suing every single fricking person she can in order to get more money and more recognition.

******ok, you people who think that it's stupid of him to go to court need to look at it from his point of view. first of all, it was rdr books that pushed this trial, and he had very little to do with it. and he's said many times he loves the books and jo. AND jo needed a reality slap anyways, she's very greedy to take someone to court because they might take away from her immense fortune. I love hp and jo, and i agree with steve that it's good the trial is over, but all you h8rs need to chill. it's over. it's done. he apologized. grow up, stop calling him a dumb ass, and get over it.********

Poor Steve! You people are so RUDE and MEAN. Stop being so horrible. Whether or not he should have won this case (and I think he should have), he does NOT deserve to be put down like this. How can you say he's not a fan of the books? He created the best HP-related website. Everyone checks it for facts all the time. THAT is devotion. I am happy to hear he's working on a new book. They can't sue him over this one. Good for him for not backing down or giving up over this. I hope he knows there are more mature people out there who won't disown him over this crap.

Kareen: once someone uses another persons copyrighted material for profit, to make money off of, then there is a problem. It's not that Jo wants more money, it's the mere fact that someone else will be profiting from her work that is against the law. I suspect you wouldn't like it if someone was making money off of something you said or had written, now would you? This is why there is a law protecting artists, be they writers, musicians or painters to name a few.