People that do things like this to historic books make me mad!!
In a previous workplace, it could be frustrating when you found passages of text in Institutional writings / law reports underlined with ink, and notes made in the margins – the courts won’t accept photocopies of defaced texts like that.
But it was hard to argue with the perpetrators, as the ink was from ink wells, and the writing was copperplate…and the original annotator had probably died 150 years before you were born!
I don’t know, I don’t think JK’s really got a strong case here.
After all, it’s just a reference guide to her work – she didn’t write it, someone else (a librarian, woo-hoo!) put in that hard work.
I wonder, to take it to an extreme, if she wins this does it mean that travel writers won’t be able to write about the countries they visit, because they didn’t create them, just experienced them and loved them?
Assuming they even visited them in the first place, of course.
The case is being heard in America, and I’m not clear enough on UK copyright law (other than to know what I can and can’t copy in a commercial library) to know if she’d be able to bring the same sort of case here. I have a feeling she couldn’t but can’t guarantee it.
Either way, I think she’s perhaps getting a bit uptight about work created by people who love what she writes, and want to help guide others.
If it appeared to come from Facebook, and just asked you to confirm your name, date of birth and email address?
Or would you give an old school friend your eBay password?
Apparently, those details were enough for scammers to steal money from individuals who’d been perhaps a little too forthcoming with personal information on social networking sites.
It does seem that they were perhaps using some of their personal information that they also publicly shared as passwords, but still, how much do you trust Facebook and similar sites?
Would you be as wary about clicking links in an email that appeared to come from them or giving personal info as you would if it came from a stranger?
Do we now trust these sites more than banks, to the extent that an email from them must be authentic and reliable?
Including world record balloon blowing by nose…yup, if I was going to go for a world record on nasal balloon blowing, I’d be nipping down to the public library to do it too…maybe.
That is one unusual talent…
Story originally from Nothing to Do With Arbroath
Dumpling in a Hanky 