Quote:
Originally Posted by TadW
Implying what? That a fan guide cannot be used commercially?
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What I mean is that while an author may be willing to "turn a blind eye" to a web site created by a fan for the benefit of other fans (as is often done in the case of "fan fiction", for example), if the same work is published by a commercial publisher for profit it becomes rather a different situation.
There are trademarks involved here as well as copyright. If the owner of a trademark fails to protect it, that can be used later as evidence of the fact that the owner isn't really bothered, and the trademark protection can be lost. That's exactly what happened to trademarks like "aspirin" in the USA - the trademark holder failed to take someone to court who marketed their own make of acetylsalicylic acid (that's what aspirin is) under the name "aspirin", and the trademark holder lost the rights to the name as a result.
ie, Ms. Rowling
has to fight this.