Unauthorised Harry Potter release
p2pnet.net OT News:- Canadians who bought the latest Harry Potter book could find themselves involved in a real, true-life horror story, says a Canadian copyright expert.
An unnamed Canadian bookseller in Vancouver, BC, jumped the release gun and started selling Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince even though it’s not slated for launch until the weekend.
Now buyers have been ordered not to do anything – anything – with the book.
And to return it.
Immediately.
But as Canadian law professor Michael Geist observes:
"While that is understandable, the remainder of the court order is a bit harder to take. People have legitimately purchased the book, yet now face violation of a court order if they fail to return it immediately, discuss it, or do anything else with the book.
"While a court might look skeptically on an attempt to bring an action against a purchaser who fails to return the book, why the court would grant such a broad order that reaches down to the underlying purchasers suggests that this could turn into a real horror story."
Here’s what the court order, posted on the Raincoast Books site, says:
You are hereby notified that on July 9th, 2005, at approximately 4:30 Pacific daylight time, the Honourable Madam Justice Gill granted a John and Jane Doe restraining order to Raincoast Books, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and JK Rowling in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The court ordered an injunction;
(i) restraining John/Jane Does and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (“Harry Potter #6”) from John/Jane Does and anyone who is given notice of the order from copying or disclosing all or any part of Harry Potter #6 or any information derived therefrom including without limitation the story, plot or characters of Harry Potter #6 to any person prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005 without the consent of the Plaintiffs’ solicitors save for information which has been made the subject of any press release issued or other communication made by or on behalf of and with the authority of the Plaintiffs;
(ii) restraining John/Jane Does and anyone who is given notice of the order from displaying, reading, offering for sale, selling, exhibiting in public or without the express consent of the Plaintiffs possessing Harry Potter #6 prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005;
(iii) subject to paragraph (iv) below, restraining John/Jane Does, and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter #6 from John/Jane Does, and anyone who is given notice of the order, from making any use of, or destroying or concealing, or without the express consent of the Plaintiffs parting with possession, power, custody or control of any copy of Harry Potter #6 or any part of it or any copies thereof or any notes or descriptions of it prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005;
(iv) compelling John/Jane Does and each of them and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter #6 from John/Jane Does to deliver to the plaintiff Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd. forthwith any and all copies of Harry Potter #6 in their possession as well as any photocopies, photographs or electronic copies of any portion of that book and all notes or descriptions of it and to immediately delete all electronic copies of any part of that book in their possession or under their control.
A certified copy of the formal order is available upon request from info@raincoast.com.
Definitely stay tuned.
(Thanks, stief)
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
weekend – Harry Potter online, p2pnet, July 11, 2005
Michael Geist – Court Orders Harry Potter Purchasers to Return Book, July 11, 2005
July 12th, 2005 at 1:12 am
If this book got out in the open before the release date, the Publisher deserves it! No book should be hyped this much, nor deserves this much anticipation. The incident should be a warning to the greedy!
July 12th, 2005 at 1:37 am
hope it gets online soon…
July 12th, 2005 at 1:37 am
I can see it now, Sir Ian standing there facing Voldemort with the Supreme Court Judgement in his hand shouting:
“YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK! YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK!”
Gag orders are lame, even more so when the gag order is actioned against people who have broke no law. They merely purchased something they thought was released and now their freedom to speak about it is threatened with legal action… shudder.
So when are the US scheduled to start occupying Canada?
Alexander Hanff
July 12th, 2005 at 2:27 am
It’s interesting that the publishers felt they needed to go to the extreme of threatening their customers with court orders. The entertainment cartels do it all the time. But aren’t reputable book publishers above that sort of thing?
Potter fans are said to be ardent and one would assume that, given the very, very small number of people who bought Half Prince (a radio program called them a ’select’ group), it would probably have been enough to use the media to simply ask them to keep quiet, if not actually return the book.
Issuing panicky court orders means the publishers don’t believe their ‘valued’ customers are responsible people.
Cheers!
July 12th, 2005 at 2:38 am
Why should I return the book? XD hahaha you don’t know who bought what! I bought the book legitly at the store, I don’t have to return it… it will be officially out soon anyway! =P
Its just a book! XD
Stupid courts are once again overstepping their bounds… They have no right to tell me to return something I bought legitly!
Maybe, I shouldn’t have even supported the book, since its makers are being such assholes about all this… XD sheeeesh settle down people… its just a book, not like its unreleased software, or a movie! =P It comes out soon anyway.
Maybe I’ll take this chance to spoil the plot, and give some people reasons not to buy it! lol
July 12th, 2005 at 2:38 am
Why should I return the book? XD hahaha you don’t know who bought what! I bought the book legitly at the store, I don’t have to return it… it will be officially out soon anyway! =P
Its just a book! XD
Stupid courts are once again overstepping their bounds… They have no right to tell me to return something I bought legitly!
Maybe, I shouldn’t have even supported the book, since its makers are being such assholes about all this… XD sheeeesh settle down people… its just a book, not like its unreleased software, or a movie! =P It comes out soon anyway.
Maybe I’ll take this chance to spoil the plot, and give some people reasons not to buy it! lol
July 12th, 2005 at 2:42 am
if you really did buy, i hope you paid cash and not credit card.
but, you should sell it on ebay right now and make a fortune – before they block the sale like they did with the live8 tickets!
July 12th, 2005 at 2:57 am
There have been US Military installations in Canada for many, many years.
There is even talk of “harmonizing” our border in order to “facilitate trade”. Meanwhile, leftist joe on the street is about as chaulk full of Anti-US rhetoric as you could find in any cold-war era marixist discussion group in University.
Not sure which electoral process is more friggered though!!!! 5 parties in a first-past-the-post system designed for a dual party legislature is downright broken when a 30% party gets majority!!!
July 12th, 2005 at 3:02 am
chock full, not chaulk full.
July 12th, 2005 at 3:04 am
SPOIL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! =]
July 12th, 2005 at 3:23 am
Bloomsberry (England) made all the rules for the lay down, not the US
If someone has a copy, and returns to raincoast, they will get it back Sat.am, along with an autograph from J.K
July 12th, 2005 at 3:27 am
The publishing company is victim of its’ own hype. Now they have staged this release of come at such and such a date at such and such a time. Evidently they want a buying spree with all the hype they can muster to go with it.
This is just to reminiscent of what the movie and music business does, is to stage the release. Sometimes these staged releases come as a backfire and I hope this is one of them. Best thing would be an ebook copy out there within a day or two. Barring that, maybe the customers get fed up with it. They got far more than this one upcoming day to sell this book. They got another 75 years for the author and what, 95 years for the publisher? Just maybe before the end of copyright they will be able to recoup their expenses that were so important to protect at the outset. If they haven’t made it in that time, they aren’t going to make it.
So why get their panties in a wad?
July 12th, 2005 at 3:34 am
Damn, and I thought I would move to canada to get out of the US, oh well any other ideas?
July 12th, 2005 at 4:43 am
If you’re from the US, please stay there, we don’t want you.
July 12th, 2005 at 8:02 am
because Jesus will appear when this book is released, thats why.
July 12th, 2005 at 10:08 am
unless you’re an army deserter who didn’t vote for Monkeyboy. If you’re a repub who was pro war, pick up a gun, go to the desert and get the gas for your Humvee yourself.
July 12th, 2005 at 10:31 am
shut up, you xenophobic racist.
July 12th, 2005 at 12:11 pm
Yes I read the article too. It says at the top if you play nice we will give you some goodies. Then at the bottom, it says, but if you don’t play nice the supreme court is gonna jump all over you.
Irrespective of where the decision was made, it is US in nature, hense the comment on the US. It is like the MPAA, “Pay us $100 000 OR we will sue you for $150 000 000″
Alexander Hanff
July 12th, 2005 at 11:18 pm
Moveon.org has posted information blaming Karl Rove and President Bush
for the unauthorized release of the Harry Potter book. ;> Well not really, but in the words of Judy Tenuta, “It could happen!
July 12th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
that’s supposed to be funny?
sorry, but it doesn’t even remotely make any sense.
maybe moveon should stay away from trying to be funny and move on to being serious. “funny” doesn’t work for them.
July 17th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
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