[HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Lexicon vs. Encyclopedia of Arda

[Katherine Coble]

On Apr 23, 2008, at 2:51 AM, Lee Kaiwen wrote:

> Rather, I'm mindful of another site in nearly the same position as
> Steve's -- the Encyclopedia of Arda, an encyclopedia of all things
> Tolkien. It's very similar to Steve's site in that it's an  
> encyclopedia
> of entries with summaries, descriptions and citations from Tolkien's
> published works. It's been around for years, and its disclaimer
> specifically states it is not authorized by or affiliated with the
> Tolkien estate.
>
> While the EA has never attempted to publish a hard copy, it does  
> sell a
> CD of itself which includes all site content in an offline interactive
> format. That is, it is actually *selling* Tolkien content. And yet I'm
> not aware that it has ever been bothered by the Tolkien estate.
> (Conversely, I've not seen anything that explicitly indicates the
> Tolkien estate is aware of the site, but that would seem rather  
> unlikely
> that it weren't.)
>
> Does the Encyclopedia of Arda stand or fall with Steve, or is it a
> qualitively different case? If so, why?
>
> --CJ


Now Katherine:

The comparison to Tolkien is valid, and it's a question that  
illuminates the whole "story behind the story" with the lawsuit.    
I've been working in publishing rights and marketing for years now.

The problem with the Tolkien estate is that the books were not  
popular until many years after they were published, and then they  
were popular on the underground circuit for years.  In the '70s and  
'80s there were many derivative works that were largely ignored by  
the rights-holders.

In copyright court that set a precedent.  If you don't defend your  
copyright vigorously, your ownership can become diluted and future  
suits can be hard to win.  That's in large part why JKR is forced to  
do battle with RDR now.  She's got to vigorously defend her property  
against all comers--even if they're people she likes, like Steve.  (I  
truly think she likes folks like Steve and Emerson and Melissa.)  If  
she doesn't fight everybody she soon won't be able to fight anybody  
and she'll be in the same position as the Tolkien estate.

--Katherine

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