Issue & Publication Design: Copyright

“Harry Potter” author wins copyright claim has been current issue that involved with the copyright. According to Caruso 2008, this sensitive issue started with Steven Vander Ark joined the adult chat group devoted to the “Harry Potter” books in 1999. A year later, he started his own site and he managed to attract around 1.5 million page views per month and contributions from worldwide. J.K. Rowling thinks that as a writer, Vander Ark’s “Harry Potter Lexicon” cause her severe harm. However, in this case, Vander Ark does not have to be conscientious because he was in a contract with RDR books. (Caruso 2008)

According to intellectual Property office 2008, “copyright protects written, musical, theatrical, and artistic works as well as film, sound recordings, broadcasts and books layout”. Besides that, it is not necessary to register for copyright. It is an “automatic right”. Copyright is to protect most of the medium. It is also states that it may be infraction if we create a painting or writing from the original author or from other else’s book without their permission. This is why the J.K Rowling (author of Harry Potter) sued the Vander Ark. (Intellectual Property Office 2008)

Reep 2006 proposes that it is important that when using the work as public area. With the intention of getting plagiarism, people must cite or provide the created or originated sources. Stanford University Library (2007) also notes that copyright principle known as the power for the public to freely use parts of copyrighted resources for the reason of clarification or critism. However, if the owner refuses the fair use principle, this will ended up like the case of “Harry Potter”.