According to Publisher's Weekly, J.K. Rowling has won her lawsuit against RDR books and the author of The Harry Potter Lexicon. Rowling alleged that the Lexicon consisted primarily of quotes from her Harry Potter books, with a few pieces of commentary linking them together. She had no objection when the Lexicon was a Website; but when the writer found a publisher and stated a plan to put it out as a book, for profit (and potentially in competition with the Harry Potter encylopedia Rowling is going to put out), she denied permission and eventually sued.
The judge who heard the case awarded Rowling a permanent injunction against the Lexicon's release; and a total of $6,750 in damages -- which likely does not cover Potter's plane fare for traveling to the U.S. to testify.
The suit illustrates the tightrope fan writers walk when they put out material like this. If the owner of the rights to whatever the fan is writing about is okay with the fan's work, or at least does not object, all is good. But if a fan goes against the creator's wishes (which sounds to me like an odd way to express appreciation for the creator of the property you admire so much you're writing about it), the fan is walking on hazardous territory.
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