By Bruce Rhodes
July 13, 2005
Shame on Raincoast Books for threatening court action against the owners of the prematurely released copies of the new Harry Potter book (B.C. Store Lets Slip The New Harry Potter – July 12).
It is fair play for the publisher to offer signed book
plates and T-shirts for returning the books. Beyond this, so long as the books'
owners respect copyright laws, they should be free to read the book, share
their views of it with whomever they wish, and lend it to friends.
For Raincoast to "guarantee the secrecy and privacy of any [book owner] who
comes forward" unfairly casts the buyers as culprits. Raincoast is free to
berate the inattentive retailer if it wishes, but otherwise it should leave the
books' owners alone.