RDR Books: Harry Potter Lexicon Case Isn’t Over Yet

By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/12/2008 12:19:00 PM

Get ready for another round of the Harry Potter Lexicon case. RDR Books, publisher of the print version of the popular Web site, has appealed a recent decision to stop publication of the book.

Represented by Anthony Falzone of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, RDR has appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit a decision that publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon infringed on author J.K. Rowling’s copyright.

District Judge Robert Patterson ruled in September in favor of Rowling, who sued Lexicon creator and former Michigan school librarian Steve Vander Ark and blocked publication of his book. 

The print version of The Harry Potter Lexicon would have been drawn verbatim from the material on Vander Ark’s Web site, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedic listings of all things Harry that’s used by people all over the world—even by Rowling herself. Created by Vander Ark in 2000, the resource was so impressive that Rowling gave it a Fan Site Award on her official site.

The Association for Library Service to Children has also named the site one of the nation's top 15 "Great Web Sites" for children, and it earned a three-pencil rating as an "exceptional Web site," which means it’s appropriate for elementary- and middle school-aged children, as well as parents, teachers and caregivers.