[HPforGrownups] Re: Why not Actually Re-Write? Just for fun.

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 180311

Pippin wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:
>   
>> So, what if we speculatively rewrite the books, in fact, why
>> don't we all do it right now?
>>     
>
> Pippin Fowler:
> Not to play copyright cop, but the proposal could be against the U.S. 
> copyright law.
>
> from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html
>   
Bart:
Here's an excellent site on the subject:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/fanfic/notice.cgi?NoticeID=522

Note that there are also trademarks in play; for example, the Sherlock 
Holmes stories are all in the public domain, but the character is still 
trademarked, so if you tried to create derivative fiction, you may find 
yourself under lawsuit for trademark violation. Even JKR is not immune; 
when GOF was made in the media that must not be named, she was the 
recipient of a lawsuit from a band called "The Wyrd Sisters", whose name 
was trademarked, and did not want another band with the same name 
appearing in GOF.

I don't have a list of precisely what is trademarked out of the HP 
series, but with the Harry Potter merchandise, you can be sure it's a 
good portion of it. I'm trying to find a source, but I believe that the 
Lexicon lawsuit involves trademarks as well as copyrights.

Bart


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