Dear readers,
Ever copied a friend’s work back in high school? Remember the sense of guilt you felt?
Source: Getty Images n.d.
When it comes to copyright issues in publication, it’s not quite the same as various criterions must be taken into consideration to determine the existence of copyright infringement.
Before that, an article, “’Harry Potter’ Author Wins Copyright Claim”, by CBC News (2008), reports that J.K. Rowling has won a copyright claim in which the judge ruled that Steven Vander Ark, an author, breached copyright regulations when wanting to publish “Harry Potter Lexicon”, a Potter encyclopedia. The publisher, RDR, argued that the encyclopedia is a “fair use” permissible by law (CBS News 2008).
The principle of fair use
Stanford University Libraries (2007) define the principle of fair use as “…a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism.”
With that said, Stanford University Libraries (2007) and Maricopa Community Colleges (2002) denote that there are a few criterions judged in the determination of fair use:
“The purpose and character of your use”
According to this principle, it is only fair use when the purpose of using the content is to create a new insight. As such, Vander Ark, failed to meet this criterion as the encyclopedia merely acts to organize information that already exists in the Harry Potter series rather than creating something new.
“The nature of the copyrighted work”
Additionally, a stronger case for fair use is marshaled if the nature of the work is factual as opposed to fictional. Clearly, the Harry Potter series is fictional in nature, failing to meet another criterion yet again.
“The amount and substantiality of the portion taken”
Simply put, the lesser the amount of content is taken, the stronger the case for fair use. In this case, a large sum of information is acquired in order to build the encyclopedia, failing to satisfy this criterion.
“The effect of the use upon the potential market”
In brief, a strong case for fair use occurs when the use of content has little or no effect on the copyright owner’s revenue. Since the Harry Potter series are both renowned and established, publishing an encyclopedia that is linked to this franchise would garner a lot of revenue, possibly reducing Rowling’s market share.
Therefore, in my opinion, based on the criterions above, the judge’s rule: a violation of copyright, is fair.
Copyright law in Malaysia
The Copyright Act 1987 deems derivatives of copyrighted work such as adaptations (similar ideas) as lawful, forbidding the repetition of content verbatim (Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism 2008).
In conclusion, editors and publishers play a significant role in considering Meta issues like copyright regulations. Editors must be well-versed with copyright laws to evade copyright infringement.
References:
CBC News 2008, “Harry Potter” Author wins copyright claim, viewed 16 June 2009, <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/entertainment/main4426302.shtml>.
Maricopa Community Colleges 2002, Copyright guidelines, viewed 16 June 2009, <http://maricopa.edu/legal/ip/guidelines/fairuse.htm>.
Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism 2008, Copyright act 1987, viewed 16 June 2009, <http://www.kpdnhep.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=501>.
Stanford University Libraries 2007, B. measuring fair use: the four factors, viewed 16 June 2009, <http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html#1>.
Stanford University Libraries 2007, Chapter 9: fair use, viewed 16 June 2009, <http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/>.
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