Bootleg "Potter" lands teen translator in jail
Zeke
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Bootleg "Potter" lands teen translator in jail[/b]By Angela Charlton The Associated PressWas it wizardry that guided him? Or too much free time? Whatever it was, a determined French 16-year-old accomplished a mystifying feat in translating all 759 pages of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" within days of its July 21 release. He then posted it online.The problem: It was illegal, and now the teen has spent a night in jail and faces charges of violating intellectual property rights.Author J.K. Rowling's lawyers say networks of other illegal Potter translators span the world, seeking to profit from the boy wizard's global appeal.Official translation slow[/b]The French teen translator, a high school student from Aix-en-Provence in southern France, likely had less sinister intentions."He just wanted to get the book online" and did not appear to be seeking commercial gain, Aix Prosecutor Olivier Rothe said Wednesday. The boy apparently compiled the entire translation himself, Rothe said.The teenager, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was picked up Monday after a complaint from police in Paris and was released Tuesday after questioning, Rothe said. He said the boy could face charges for violating intellectual property rights.The French agency for fighting counterfeiting alerted Rowling and Gallimard Jeunesse, the publishing house that is releasing the official French translation on Oct. 26. The publishing house said it offered its support to the agency's investigation.Gallimard spokeswoman Marie Leroy-Lena said official Harry Potter translator Jean- Francois Menard is still working on "Deathly Hallows," since he only received the official English version when it was released July 21.Readers eager for the seventh and final adventure are frustrated that it is taking him so long."To wait three months to have a French version, that is too much!" said Ketty Do, a 17-year-old, flipping through the English version at a bookstore on the Champs-Elysees.Do called the teen translator "a courageous person" but added, laughing: "Still, I will wait for the official version, since this kid is only 16."Twelve-year-old Robin Gallaud, looking at video games in the bookstore, had no such reservations."If I find the French version on the Net, I will read it," he said.Some French bloggers lamented the shutdown of the pirated translation site, though fragmented translations are still available elsewhere, including one by a 54-year-old author who published the final 10 pages of the book in French on his blog.Neil Blair, a lawyer at the Christopher Little Literary Agency, said Rowling's agents were "heartened" that the French authorities took action against the teen "to protect copyrights and to avoid innocent fans being duped."Blair said French police had identified an organized system of translation networks where unofficial translations of Harry Potter are posted onto website networks and then onto peer-to-peer networks that derive profit by attracting advertisers. Blair said French police told him one young woman had been questioned about these networks, but was released."The real Harry Potter fans are not supporting this," Blair said.The magic of file sharing[/b]Web translators have become more organized as each new book was released and as the Internet and file-sharing becomes more prevalent, he said.Fans in several countries have already posted unofficial translations of the "Deathly Hallows" online, including in China, where publishers fear it could lead to counterfeit books in a country where piracy is rampant.Worldwide, the Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies, have been translated into at least 64 languages and have been spun off into a hit movie series.Many French readers already know how "Harry Potter et les reliques de la mort" - as it is titled here - ends. Le Parisien newspaper revealed it in an article it printed upside down.source: http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_6575436Since there are a few writers on SoulStrut, as well as people with a vested interest in their own published works, I figured this article might be a good springboard into conversation about modern copyright law. Beyond the obvious stupidity of a company that publishes childrens books suing a child, does this kind of fan[/b] based online dissemination really effect the bottom line of these companies? Is established copyright law set to deal with these issues in the future? Is it even an issue or are these kinds of suits just reactionary tactics from an industry that hasn't figured out its role in this "new world"?My personal opinion is that while companies should have the right to protect their copyrights, doing so is indicative of a lack of understanding of their core audience. I also believe that we're getting much closer to a time when the number of large publishing companies of ALL mediums is going to decline and we're going to see a lot of smaller companies that understand the power of the new medium filling in the gaps.Discuss.
Comments
Who cares about the facts, feed me more witty French remarks like this one.