Today marks Day 2 of the media frienzied trial that is J.K. Rowling/Warner Brothers vs RDR books. USA Today (video featured) has posted a new article covering today's proceedings. Today, Steve Vander Ark, author of the book in question, took the stand:
With Rowling sitting directly in front of him with her lawyers, Vander Ark broke down in tears after more than three hours on the witness stand when asked if he still thought of himself as part of the Harry Potter fan club community.
"I do," he said, trembling with tears and struggling to continue speaking. "It's been difficult because there's been a lot of criticism, obviously, but ... it has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so."
The Wall Street Journal has also updated their Law Blog to continue coverage on the trial:
Did Vander Ark Knowingly Infringe? Cendali tried to elicit a sense of the copyright knowledge that Vander Ark, a longtime librarian, might have, and that perhaps he knew ahead of time that RDR planned to infringe Rowling’s copyright. Cendali showed an e-mail from Vander Ark to the host of another Potter fan site. Vander Ark, apparently disillusioned with the deal he struck with RDR in August, wrote: “I am more than willing to dissociate myself with RDR. They have lied to me, misled me, taken advantage of me and in the end ruined my good standing with fans and with Rowling.”
What’s More Important to the Parties? Money or Passion? Yesterday, Rowling said the case isn’t about money, but about principle. One of RDR’s lawyers, Anthony Falzone, in his opening remarks said that for Vander Ark it was never about money, but rather passion. Today we got a sense of where things stand on both fronts. According to Vander Ark, he’s made about $6,500 off his Web site — all through advertising — between 2000 and 2008.
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