J.K. Rowling loves your fandom! Until you try to monetize it

According to this A.P. story, the author of Harry Potter has “expressed support” for fandom-driven efforts like The Harry Potter Lexicon site — “a fan-created collection of essays and encyclopedic material on the Harry Potter universe.”

But apparently a book collecting material from the site is a different matter: Rowling (and Warner Brothers) are suing to block its publication.

In the lawsuit — filed on Halloween — Rowling claimed that the print version of the Lexicon would improperly interfere with her plans ambien to write her own definitive Harry Potter encyclopedia, one that would include new material not in the novels.

“I cannot, therefore, approve of ‘companion books’ or ‘encyclopedias’ that seek to preempt my definitive Potter reference book for their authors’ own personal gain,” Rowling said in a news release issued by Warner Bros. The film giant owns all the intellectual property related to the Potter books and movies.

It’s pretty easy to see the difference between the two sorts of “companion” books being discussed here, and it’s hard to believe that a fan-created one would really undercut sales of an official version with Rowling’s name (tramadol) on it.