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there was a case in 04 (I think) and now it's being bought up again
I think it's all BS, another attempt by an author NO ONE has ever heard of to cash in on the cash cow that is Harry Potter. come on, no offense to the poor author, but he died a penniless man and so now his sons are not only trying to cash in on HP's success, but are successfully bringing up their father's mostly forgotten work back into the spotlight. even if they lose the suit, it's a way to make an irrelevant book relevant again. as much as I want to read Willy the Wizard and draw my own conclusions, I REFUSE to pay a penny for it and give the estate the idea that constantly bringing up silly lawsuits is a way to get the book bought (I'll try to track down some online excerpts away from the main website). plus, I never understand why these people wait until YEARS after the fact to cry plagiarism. it's not as if HP is a little known series. hell, the first few movies were already out by '04! if this was my story being plagiarized, a lawsuit would be out ASAP
one thing I've learned from being a fan of fantasy and YA lit and taking classes in both, is that there are very, very few truly original ideas left in this world. humans being captured by half human/humanoid creatures can be found in all sorts of stories. as for the bathroom connection, from my recollection of GOF, Harry solves the problem in the bathroom. he doesn't rescue anyone FROM the bathroom. nitpicky, but I'd say more of a coincidence than plagiarism.
w/ the mixing of fantasy elements and real world elements such as technology, the idea of wizards and witches riding a train is bound to appear in a variety of fantasy stories and isn't even original anymore. I doubt this guy was the first to come up w/ the idea of putting wizards on trains
I've seen FAR worse cases of possible plagiarism in fantasy works than this that have never caused lawsuits (it's amazing the Tolkien estate haven't sued the vast majority of fantasy authors that came out post LOTR!)
there was a case in 04 (I think) and now it's being bought up again
I think it's all BS, another attempt by an author NO ONE has ever heard of to cash in on the cash cow that is Harry Potter. come on, no offense to the poor author, but he died a penniless man and so now his sons are not only trying to cash in on HP's success, but are successfully bringing up their father's mostly forgotten work back into the spotlight. even if they lose the suit, it's a way to make an irrelevant book relevant again. as much as I want to read Willy the Wizard and draw my own conclusions, I REFUSE to pay a penny for it and give the estate the idea that constantly bringing up silly lawsuits is a way to get the book bought (I'll try to track down some online excerpts away from the main website). plus, I never understand why these people wait until YEARS after the fact to cry plagiarism. it's not as if HP is a little known series. hell, the first few movies were already out by '04! if this was my story being plagiarized, a lawsuit would be out ASAP
one thing I've learned from being a fan of fantasy and YA lit and taking classes in both, is that there are very, very few truly original ideas left in this world. humans being captured by half human/humanoid creatures can be found in all sorts of stories. as for the bathroom connection, from my recollection of GOF, Harry solves the problem in the bathroom. he doesn't rescue anyone FROM the bathroom. nitpicky, but I'd say more of a coincidence than plagiarism.
w/ the mixing of fantasy elements and real world elements such as technology, the idea of wizards and witches riding a train is bound to appear in a variety of fantasy stories and isn't even original anymore. I doubt this guy was the first to come up w/ the idea of putting wizards on trains
I've seen FAR worse cases of possible plagiarism in fantasy works than this that have never caused lawsuits (it's amazing the Tolkien estate haven't sued the vast majority of fantasy authors that came out post LOTR!)
You are probably right. The book industry is just like any industry only that they have for years received so much free information and ideas for those who handed it over willingly. I am thinking now of the Harvard 18th year old whose book was just a ridiculous ethnicised book of anothers. The latter was reject. Marketing build up on this girl based on the "prodigy" model and off they were.
Then there is Jerry Seinfeld;s pathetic wife who the publishing industry thought made for more numbers. So they rejecting the other woman's book and handed over the ideas to her. In banking, accounting, law, counseling, this type of info trading can be career-ending. In publishling it almost seems to be a way of life.
In any event, I think JK mined the hell out of the book, a book she likely was tossed by her publisher or agent and then wonderful things with it. Agree, rather minor, although the links seem pretty darn obvious.
LOL! Like you I have no interest in seeing the estate make coin while dear 'ol Dad is pushing daisies.
Protecting intellectual property: the challenge of our age...
You are probably right. The book industry is just like any industry only that they have for years received so much free information and ideas for those who handed it over willingly. I am thinking now of the Harvard 18th year old whose book was just a ridiculous ethnicised book of anothers. The latter was reject. Marketing build up on this girl based on the "prodigy" model and off they were.
ah, that Opal Metha book (I won't even attempt to write out the author's name!). as a fiction writing student, I use that story as a cautionary tale and hope to never, intentionally or unintentionally, make the same mistakes she did. that was a horrifically plagiarized book that managed to get published and even sold a few copies for a while before the eventual lawsuit (of course, those copies resurfaced on eBay for hundreds of dollars!). there was even a movie deal that got hastily canned. but it brings up a great point. it took only a few months for this case to be found out and for the book to be pulled. granted, the story got a lot of press due to her (the author's) ridiculously high advance and Harvard connection, and the Willy the Wizard story is older and lesser known, than the material Opal Metha was lifted from, but it still took less than a year for what, 3, 4, 5, authors to come out and cry plagiarism (and BOY, did they have a case!). the Jacob's estate originally waited until '04 for the first suit and are now trying it again, almost a decade after GOF was first published. and HP has gotten far more press than Opal Metha ever did, so it just doesn't make sense to me
if the Jacobs estate is going to sue b/c they claim AJ was the first to come up w/ the idea of wizards on trains (sure ) than Ursula Le Guin may as well sue too since she may have been one of the first people to come up w/ the idea of a school for young wizards (not sure if she did or not of course)
Honestly it's silly, might as well sue for wizards in castles too. Larry Potter the wizard had a better claim (he actually looked like Harry, scar and all) but the book was so bad it made me want to puke. People see some one making money at something they thought of vaguely the same, and begin to get the me too philosophy. The more money the more people try it, because greed is a powerful thing.
She made a book that was well written and engrossing, even if they used flying buggies powered by farting horses or the main character was named Roger. Even if she picked it up once it doesn't mean it was stolen, you are limited in transport options.
Well I think that it is indeed pretty hard for a writer to invent original stories. Especially since there must be hundreds of authors who are writing about witches, wizards, magic and other magical creatures. It's just that J.K Rowling made a fascinating series which does not appeal to children only. There are adults who read the book and keep reading them.
I also like to read them (I am 20+), though since I discovered the site ‘fanfiction.net’ I am also reading other stories. Some authors are 40+ and still they write amazing stories about how it could have gone if Harry did this or if Proffesor Snape did that etc.
Anyway, to get back on the subject, J.K Rowling is an amazing author. It is possible that she added elements in the story which may resemble other stories. That does not mean that she just copied it like that. She turns and twists them, until the resemblance is so small you do not even recognize itShe did say that she got some inspirations from other books. For example to say how a hippogriff looks like and other magical creatures. For spells, she got the names from Latin. So she does not just make these up. She actually studied it and put lots of time and effort in it
That is what makes it different from other books. In all her stories there is also a lesson to be learned. Like friendship, love, death and so on. She makes the characters in her books like regular humans you could meet any day on the street. They are the same like us, they also have hobbies and sports and so on.
That actually means that the only thing that distinguishes them from us is…..magic!
And that is why people either love or hate Harry Potter
The first HP book came out HOW many years ago? The first movie was released HOW long ago?
Why is this family waiting till NOW to try and sue?
Yeah, I went to the web site, they are close on some things, but waiting so long just makes it suspicious to me, especially since HBP was coming out, and it has done so well.
Seriously, either way JK has an amazing imagination to supposedly take a 36page booklet and turn it into 7 full size novels.
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