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FEBRUARY 25, 2007 at 10:33 PM
Posted by GERI
Source: The Times
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has sued
the web site eBay for the sale of illegal electronic copies of her books in India.
According to Neil Blair, Rowling’s legal adviser at the Christopher Little Literary Agency:
Over the years eBay has appeared to be unwilling to control sellers on their site offering pirated or forged Harry Potter items for sale to innocent fans. We have asked eBay on numerous occasions to assist by taking preventative steps to avoid these sales - steps that we are aware they can introduce. As these requests were not heeded we had no choice but to seek judicial intervention.
J. K. Rowling has previously warned fans on her own website about the sale of fake signed books and other pirated Harry Potter e-books on eBay.
As recently as January JKR posted a warning on her site about illegal versions of the books and has stated on numerous occasions that her books are not available for download.
She has also warned fans about the number of fraudulently autographed and unauthorized items that have appeared for sale on eBay. We also reported back in February that no e-book version of Deathly Hallows would be published as this helps with the "growing incidents of piracy."
UPDATE: Today eBay India denied JK's claims that they have done anything wrong.
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Head Boy
Points: 445
rockinthecazba422 says:
Good for Jo!!! If she has warned them before then why shouldnt they be liable its not difficult to put a search out for all Harry Potter merchandise on the site they are just turning a blind eye and its about time Jo took action.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:01 PM EST
Kathe Mera Kalimera
Points: 7720
dominor says:
Way to go!!! Yay!! It was about time!! I hate all that kind of piracy!! *shakes fist* Damn them!! >_<
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:20 PM EST
Professor
Points: 1065
GeeMessy says:
Good for her to take action.
It is not right that people think they have a right over her books.
These are bad people trying to rip good people off.
How sad.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:20 PM EST
Sirius's Veil Thrower
Points: 4655
SiriusBlacksGodDaughter says:
Ooh SNAPS! This is happening all over the place! Stupid people!
~Drish~
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:40 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2852
H/HrShipper4Ever says:
Wow. I never knew it would go this far. In hope the JK wins. I mean common its JKR she has to win over eBay.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:44 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1218
hermygrangergirl says:
Well although I agree with eBooks in general, I disagree with illegal eBooks. And, they're hers. So if she says they can't be sold online, they can't be sold online. Period.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 7:49 PM EST
Witch
Points: 852
nejicanspin says:
The bad part about eBay is that you can't tell if the stuff you buy is stolen or is in good shape as they say it is!!
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 8:49 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1229
sapphire260 says:
I totally agree 100% of the way!!!
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 8:56 PM EST
Student
Points: 290
hairypawter90 says:
Oh Ebay...gosh it was such a useful invention until all of the scandals started. My friend bought a car off Ebay, stupid idea in my opinion. I agree with ronandhermione514 for the most part on this situation, however.
I wonder how many were sold, if it was a trivial amount I wouldn't bother suing. But if it were a great amount like I'm sure it was, JKR did the right thing. If it were a little amount than suing would be pointless because she is rich enough anyway that a few books profit wouldn't make a difference.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 9:28 PM EST
Witch
Points: 720
TooMuchFreeTime says:
Good for her! She's worked way too hard on these books and tried way too long to get e-Bay to shape up! It's time to take some action.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 9:33 PM EST
I Am Queen of My Castle
Points: 3672
Hecate3fold says:
It's too bad that she has to take such drastic measures to protect herself and the Potter enterprises from being piratized by unscrupulus persons.
Blessings! Hecate3fold!
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 9:52 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1819
zues says:
I like that she's looking out for her fans. She would never want a young person spending there money on somthing that's not real.
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 10:49 PM EST
Witch
Points: 529
HPotters_Girl says:
Good for her, she should sue them for it! I think it's stupid that people sell things that arent really too fans of hers!
Posted Feb 26, 2007 at 11:07 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1841
Remmy4193 says:
Oh well she has the right to sue them for something like that. She's worked so hard on those books, they should at least be bought legally.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 1:10 AM EST
Student
Points: 270
Dumbledore's godchild says:
I wonder if the lawsuit against e-bay is just the means to an end. I would think she would be after those who actually put the books up for auction, and if so she would be suing e-bay for the release of their information. I mean I understand that e-bay should be held responsible for what is on their site, but it's HUGE. Can they really be expected to police every single item? Should the whole thing be brought down because of a few bad apples?
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 1:11 AM EST
Witch
Points: 894
darkside rocker says:
I am happy she stood up for herself ebay is awful.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 1:32 AM EST
Dumbledore's Muse
Points: 2959
Alchemical Auror says:
Oh good on her! go JKR you rock the place and sue those buggers for being fraudulent and making money off of your hard work and years of effort!
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 3:55 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 440
myshipp says:
The amount of media piracy going on in the world--both commercial and private--is ridiculous. I looked at the Harry Potter audiobook collection on Itunes ($249 for books 1-6) and there were plenty of comments from people who said that anyone who payed this amount was an idiot since you can check them out at the library and burn your own copies for free. So apparently, you are an idiot if you save up your money to buy something expensive, because you could just steal it. This just shows what utilitarian ethics are doing to the world--which are, incidentally, the opposite kind of ethics taught in the Harry Potter books.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 2:43 PM EST
Hogwart's Ghost
Points: 2604
gemma_barnett1985 says:
Im glad she has, what is the point in having people regulate ebay when they are not stopping people like that.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 3:14 PM EST
The Golden Snidget
Points: 3157
Mrs. Phineas Nigellus says:
Bout time! I didn't realize she could do anything about it or I would have thought she'd have done something sooner. She did give them fair warning, though, it's not like it's a shock. eBay should be doing much more than they have been (which is nothing) after someone submits a specific complaint like that.
*The MRS*
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 3:20 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2351
Skitch says:
Man, she really doesn't play around when it comes to piracy. The only other incident I've ever heard of suing eBay was when someone stole a Spiderman 3 poster and tryed to sell it. Sony got their poster back, and the seller was charged.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 4:04 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1237
HeadmistressMcGonagall says:
Good for her! I think it's right of her to take these people to court, it's not fair for them to take her book and try to make a fake copy of it. That's silly.
HeadmistressMcGonagall
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 4:35 PM EST
Head Boy
Points: 478
moonyspatronus87 says:
I don't blame her in the least bit, and I'm glad she's finally doing something about it. I mean, I know she doesn't need it, but this is not about the money at all; it's truly about how much she cares about her fans.
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 8:12 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 3rd Class
Points: 1576
ALLI8 says:
I can't belive people would do that to JKR. She is so nice, people can't wait till the book comes out.
ALli8
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 8:46 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 2nd Class
Points: 1600
jenn007a says:
Good for her! She should stand up for herself and her fans!
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 9:53 PM EST
Prefect
Points: 356
DracoHarryKKVG says:
Ha ha, Ebay just totally got themselves TOLD! Go JK!
Posted Feb 27, 2007 at 10:01 PM EST
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