Warner Bros. v. HP websites

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 7746

One thing I noticed in that article was a reference to images which 
Warner objected to. I can see their point here. There are fan sites 
all over the place that blatantly use copyrighted logos, 
illustrations, etc. It seems to me that if you do that, you're asking 
for trouble. It's one thing to use the name "Harry Potter" on your 
site. It's another to scan his picture from the cover of one of the 
books and slap it on there. It ISN'T legal use, but some folks seem 
to think it's okay, after all, I'm a fan!

I haven't received any letters at all from Warner Bros. and would be 
very surprised if I did. I am pretty familiar with copyright law (not 
up to Heidi's standard, but I have taken a few classes and attended a 
number of seminars on the subject). I keep my site within the 
parameters of fair use. I can't say the same for most other sites out 
there. On top of that, I accept no advertising, so I do not make a 
penny on it. There are a lot of sites out there that are making small 
amounts of money on advertising too (although not enough to cover 
costs, I'm sure, but that doesn't change the fact that they're 
getting income). Those kinds of sites are asking for trouble.

I'm not defending Warner Bros for strong-arming people. But I do say 
they have a right to defend their copyright. And fans have a 
responsibility to respect those same copyrights. 

Steve "Soapbox" Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon