Ok he shouldnt have done it but to write a Hp 400 page encyclopedia it is going to take a long time and in the time between J.K announcing that she was writing it and him announcing that he is publishing it i mean it is just not enough time so im with steve on this one.

he isnt getting any sympathy from me, he started this and he is in the wrong!

I hope the judge sees this

i think too that writing a book would serve no use when you get evrything on the net and really fast!but if he is then it is plagarism on the other note maybe she should have given him a warning or something about the site i mean it needent have become so big an issue...

yea the site is probably the most visited site on the net and jo knew that so if she knew she was going to write an encyclopedia then she should have known that someone would write one with all that information.

i cant believe so many people agree with Vander Ark on here especialy when most main fan sites TLC and mugglenet have distanced themself from him.

he is effectivly steeling jos work is that acceptable jus because she is in the public eye and has money? no jo has the right like any author, musician and artist tho protect her work

Yes jos book will take a long time but think how worth it, it will be. Her Books are worth the wait every time.

I admit I feel sorry for the dude, but... it would have been blatant plagiarism if he'd gone through with it. We've all had the message drilled into our heads from the moment we started uni: CITE!

Some people may think JK's being too strict about this, or mean, but it's her right as the author and owner of the story. It would be as if he'd kidnapped her kids.

I never do an essay with out my copy of cite it write! and the harvard method nabs!

i really think he is in the wrong and i have nothing but contempt for him

I am not saying he is right, i wholly believe in respecting copyrights, thats why i make sure i get all of mine when i finish writing something.

I just feel sorry for him, he is just a fan that just got a little over zealous. And i hate that comment that she made about rethinking supporting her fans because of his mistake.

I think I am in agreement with you there.

I feel sorry fro him, but he should have know what he was getting himself into.

I think you've misinterpreted her though. She's distancing herself specifically from him, which isn't surprising.

Exactly. Steve has no excuse; he's a librarian and a teacher, an educated man! And yet he's pretending to be ignorant. I don't buy it one bit.

The site is ok because it's not making a significant profit. They were served with FOUR warnings to cease & desist. But they didn't; instead they tried selling the rights to other European countries whilst trying to buy time.

If it wasn't about money, then he would've offered to donate profits to charity, as Jo intended. To do otherwise is to imply that it is about cash. Particularly since he needs it to stay in the U.K. and support himself as a writer, and his family, who he recently left.

really, this is getting ridiculous...
 

okay maybe this vander ark guy is guilty. but jk is making this a bigger deal than it really is. if jk sees this guy as a threat she needs to realize her position. she could stop working right now and STILL carry her money over to the next generation...and personally, i wouldn't buy this man's book anyway, so this isn't about the book being a threat to her career, this is about her and the fact that her money is going to her head. she needs to relax-the guy doesn't seem like some creep looking for a quick buck-he's one, hardcore fan who made a mistake. yes, she should take him to court, and yes he may be guilty of plagiarism, but for this much pressure to be applied to one man, a FAN, and for her to make the comments she made about him and her fans in general, it just arrogant and unneccessary. this could have been handled much smoother, and much quieter. i realize she is upset but she can not forget where she came from and who brought her to the top (her fans), because that is CLEARLY what is happening. people are going to be reading her books for years to come. one extreme fan putting together a book (that many won't even buy because the information is free on the net anyway) won't really damage her career all that much. jk was very catty and extravagant in her handling of this situation. her money has made her a different person, and her appreciation of where it came from is dwindling.

As I stated before, it's just my opinion. You may be right, but I don't believe it is about money.

You're missing the point; this is way bigger than just Jo & HP. A win would set a legal precedent for ALL writers.

Fair enough, but if it's not about money, then why not donate to charity? That would be a logical progression.

I kind of feel sorry for him. I'm sure he didn't really mean it all.

If that was the case there wouldn't be a clause in his contract that protects him against such an incident.

this is unbelieble

I know right!

Gee...I wonder who will win