Legal cloud over China's Harry Potter fans
Published: 31 Jul 2003 10:25 BST
Fans of Harry Potter in China may need a magic spell to get them out of trouble with state copyright law.
According to a report in the official People's Daily, fans of the latest book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix have already posted online Chinese-language versions of 35 of the book's 38 chapters.
The book was published in June this year by Bloomsbury, but the official translation is not due till September.
A storm is brewing in China over the how legal the Web version of the book is, said the report.
An official from the State Press and Publication Administration said Chinese copyright law states that those who "translate works without authorisation and who spread works through an information network without authorisation have to bear civil and criminal responsibility".
However, it seems the fans will survive this round, thanks to a loophole in Chinese copyright law.
"In this case, the translators of the online Chinese version will be investigated under the law only when the book's copyright owner sues," the state press official was quoted as saying.
But The People's Literature Publishing House, the authorised publisher of the Chinese version, said it won't sue the online translators because it hasn't yet acquired the rights to publish the book in electronic form, said the report.
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