J.K. Rowling Vs. Steve Vander Ark Lawsuit: New Copyright Precedent for Writers?

Looking into the Possibility of Literary Tributes and Offshoots Similar to "The Harry Potter Lexicon" Book Becoming Legal

When I saw J.K. Rowling making comment at the time of this writing that she's fearing the worst for copyright law with her lawsuit against eerie Harry Potter look-a-like Steve Vander Ark and his "Harry Potter Lexicon" book, I almost fell over (even though I was seated). Here's arguably the most powerful and wealthiest author in the world now giving warning to all of us writers from continent to continent that we could be looking at a new copyright law precedent on the horizon. Even the judge in this case has said he'll need extra time on the case and will have obviously made either a brilliant decision or a dangerous one that will be effective for all writers at some indefinite time away from the time of this article.

Since this case managed to get into the jungles of unknown copyright law territory--just what kind of precedent (or maybe precedents) will this case possibly set? What J.K. Rowling probably fears more than anything is the possibility of books that reach such incredible pop culture status that they automatically qualify for going beyond the limits of copyright law and into the shadings of public domain. Yes, that does sound monumentally complicated, and it is. It seems beyond comprehension that a work could be so influential and a part of everyone's pop culture lives that it becomes something else that copyright law can't even protect any longer. And public domain is what it is. We'd probably need a whole new definition for some other kind of public domain.