Our listener, Karina just informed us that she nominated us for a 2008 Podcast Award in the Culture/Arts category. We appreciate the gesture and at this point in time ask if you all have some extra time if you can send in a nomination as well.

Note: I am not 100% sure how the voting works, but you do need to send in individual nominations, we may ask you to vote again at a later date.

Thanks so much in advance and Keep On Prognosticating!!

Today is HPProgs’ two year birthday/anniversary. It is hard to believe we have been around for two years and we are still going strong. What started as a complete lark has actually become a source of entertainment, information and plain old good times (and to quote Greg: general tomfoolery and hi jinks).

Feel free to go back and listen to Episode 1 and see how well our prognosticating skills fared, as well as how far we’ve come in our podcasting skills. You might also like to check out Episode 51: The Podcastversary Edition. You’ll remember-that was a fun old episode, we let loose a little and Greg even performed his BlueGrass Wizard Rock song, “My Invisibility Cloak”- complete with guitar playing!

So thanks to everyone who has been part of HPProgs for the past two years. We have loved doing the podcast, and we look forward to good times to come! And remember, we have now entered our “Terrible Twos” so you all better watch out!!

If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter books and J.K. Rowling, and were alive during the month of April of 2008, you probably heard about a little law suit over a book called “The Harry Potter Lexicon.”  The author of that book, Steve Vander Ark, is also the creator and editor of the Harry Potter Lexicon website.  We got a chance to talk with Steve about the lawsuit, the fan reactions, his new book and, of course, we talked a bit about Harry Potter (you know, the books about this boy wizard…oh never mind).  It’s a fascinating interview, hope you enjoy it.  We here at HPProgs believe in hearing all points of view, and hope that you will feel free to voice your opinions in the comments, while remaining respectful and rational in the process.

A big thanks to Steve for taking the time to talk with us.

Check out Steve’s new book entitled In Search of Harry Potter.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

Don’t forget to get your entries in for the Harry Potter/Beedle the Bard/YouTube Contest!  You can win a free copy of the Deluxe edition of the new Beedle the Bard book (that’s the $100 fancy version).

You can listen to the episode with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

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If you do, make sure to check out Travis’ latest post on The Hogs Head. He put up a new caption contest and the winner will receive a copy of the 10th Anniversary Edition of the Sorcerer’s Stone. Great prize if you ask me!

The fun part is that the photo that Travis is asking to caption is a picture of the two of us at Portus 2008. Now is your chance to make fun of me AND win a great prize all at the same time.

Good luck!

The Harry Potter Lexicon appears to have been taken down. Over the past few weeks when one visited the site, there was a 443 error. However; today, when I tried to access the page I was taken to a Go Daddy website with the message “This website is parked for free courtesy of GoDaddy.com”. So what does this mean? Time and time again, when we discussed the JKR/SVA trial, Greg expressed his confusion about why the website’s copyright status wasn’t called into question. Is it possible that part of the recent trial verdict required the site to be removed? Or perhaps, the amount of traffic the site was receiving was simply too much for the bandwidth SVA had planned for his site (note: I know NOTHING about bandwidth or anything like that now so stop laughing and I’ll just shut up now)? Interestingly enough, when checking out the ownership of the site, we found out that Melissa Anelli owns the domain. Take from that what you will.

In any event, the Harry Potter Lexicon has disapparated from the internet and I’m sad. If it truly is gone, not only does it nullify years and years of hard work on Steve Vander Ark’s part (not to mention his staff and contributors); but the resource that *was* the HP Lexicon is no longer available to the HP fans. As someone who has analyzed these books and has held hours and hours of discussion related to Harry Potter (89 of those recorded for all of you to hear ) I have used the Lexicon as a resource countless times.

It does seem that Steve is moving on though. Well sort of. He isn’t leaving the Harry Potter world but he is focusing on different ventures.

The Grand Rapids Press reports the following:

“I’ve always been a fan of Harry Potter and of Rowling and my hope all along was that we’d find an amicable way to settle this,” Vander Ark said from England this on Tuesday morning. “I’m disappointed, but this is the way it went and I don’t hold any ill will at all.

“It was a question of law over a difference of opinion and, in a way, I’m glad that it’s finally over.”

While the dispute simmered in court for nearly a year, Vander Ark has been focusing on publishing a different Potter-themed book.

This one, a travel memoir, has Vander Ark visiting sites referenced in the series, exploring and taking pictures of them. The 256-page book is set for release in October through Methuen Publishing, Vander Ark said.

“(The) book evokes the myths and magic of Harry Potter,” according to a release on the Methuen Web site. “It will be enjoyed by all fans of the boy wizard and will prove a useful guide for those bent on making discoveries of their own.”

Having heard Steve lecture on this topic, I don’t doubt that this will be a fantastic and entertaining book and I wish him the best of luck.

UPDATE: Steve read my note on facebook and here is what he wrote: “It’s not down. We’re in the process of transferring the domain and so that URL offline for a short time, but the site up as usual at www.hp-lexicon.info.”
PHEW:)

It has been almost 6 months coming, but Judge Robert Patterson finally handed down the verdict in the JK Rowling/WB vs. Steve Vander Ark/RDR lawsuit. And the winner is…..JK Rowling. In this week’s episode, we discussed the decision, the reactions of both sides, what this means for the Harry Potter fandom as well as the future of copyright law.

We also officially announced the rules for our Beedle the Bard YouTube Contest. Please make sure to enter, we want to be able to give out the books to some worthy winners!

Finally, take a look at the Wall Street Journal Article (page 1, baby!) that mentions our Hitler Half Blood Prince Delay video. The article only portrays us as only *slightly* crazy…:)

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments, thoughts, and suggestions!!

You can listen to the episode using the player below, or download directly as an mp3.

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Both JK Rowling and RDR Books have issued statements following the verdict that sided with JK Rowling in the copyright suit against RDR Books and author, Steve Vander Ark.

Rowling said the following of the verdict:

“I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favourably,” said J.K. Rowling. “I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work. The court has upheld that right.”

“The proposed book took an enormous amount of my work and added virtually no original commentary of its own. Now the court has ordered that it must not be published.”

“Many books have been published which offer original insights into the world of Harry Potter. The Lexicon just is not one of them.”

Warner Brothers issued the following statement:

“We are obviously pleased with today’s ruling by Judge Patterson supporting the position that the proposed lexicon book infringes on Ms. Rowling’s rights. As a content company, it is imperative that we work vigorously on all fronts to protect the intellectual property rights of those who create the stories and characters, words, pictures and music that entertain and benefit the worldwide audience.”

And RDR’s official statement is as follows:

“We are encouraged by the fact the Court recognized that as a general matter authors do not have the right to stop the publication of reference guides and companion books about literary works. As for the Lexicon, we are obviously disappointed with the result, and RDR is considering all of its options.”

The full opinion can be found in PDF form here.

After almost six months of deliberation, the verdict is finally in.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled Monday in favor of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling in her copyright infringement lawsuit against a fan and Web site operator who was set to publish a Potter encyclopedia.

U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson said Rowling had proven that Steven Vander Ark’s “Harry Potter Lexicon” would cause her irreparable harm as a writer. He permanently blocked publication of the reference guide and awarded Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. $6,750 in statutory damages.

There is not a lot of information about the verdict yet, but we will keep you posted as it comes in.

Now that we have the verdict and it has come back in Jo’s favor, this beckons us to ask- will Jo now have the heart to finish writing her Encyclopedia? Do the Potter fans now have a new book to look forward to?

UPDATE: while reading the opinion, I came across this tidbit:

To date, Warner Bros. has release five Harry Potter films, with the sixth scheduled for a worldwide release in November 2008.

I don’t know about you; I consider this to be a court order that Movie 6 must come out in November! Either that, or this was written a while ago.

Rugby Ralph Lauren has just released their Fall 2008 collection and the new clothes seem to have been inspired by the Hogwarts houses.

Jennifer, the Harry Potter Fandom Fashionista, writes the following:

“It seems Hogwarts-Chic, or the donning of Brit-style prep school uniforms (usually signifying the Hogwarts House one belongs to), has finally inspired the mainstream.

Complete with House-style scarves, House-style socks, a mixed variety of ties, Oxford shirts, and pleated skirts, it looks as though the RL designers have stolen a few of WB’s costumers right off the set.

Well, now more than ever the youth of America are affecting the changes in trends & fashion, especially by what we watch and read (like Harry Potter!). Also, doesn’t one of these looks resemble a sweater you’ve already seen on Emma Watson? (And yes, I know FairIsle is popular worldwide!)”

Take a look at some of the styles. What do you think?

Bloomsbury, the UK Publishers of Harry Potter have revealed the first official “Beedle The Bard” promotional poster for the upcoming release of the book.

Beedle the Bard Promotional Poster

The low res poster can be downloaded  here and the high res poster can be downloaded here (7MB file).

(Hat Tip: BlogHowgwarts.com)