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CNN Live Event/Special
Harry's in Town: "New York Daily News" Sued After Publishing Excerpts
Aired June 18, 2003 - 20:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The last stop on our time line is a developing story. Nothing short witchcraft is supposed to make the new Harry Potter book materialize in reader's hands until Saturday at midnight, that's when it's released. But today "New York Daily News" published a plot synopsis and quotes from a copy of the book sold early at a Brooklyn health food store. The paper has been hit with a lawsuit by author J. K. Rowling herself, and Scholastic the books publisher. As Deborah Feyerick, other book sellers are going to great lengths to keep the book under wraps.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At placed like Barnes and Noble, they're locked away in basements and guarded by alarms.
MARY ELLEN KEATING, BARNES AND NOBLE: All of our employees and book sellers know this room is really off limits.
FEYERICK: It's the order of the phoenix, you know, Harry, hogwarts, 8.5 million copies of Potter part 5 ready for sale in the U.S. alone. No one is breathing a word because security is so tight, no one can get their hands on it.
PETER GLASSMAN, BOOKS OF WONDER: They'd have to break through our gates and break through the door and break through the back door to get here. All of which have locks on them.
FEYERICK: Book dealers like Peter Glassman, even had to swear not to open the boxes until midnight Saturday.
(on camera): We're talking about rock concert security here, I mean we even got tickets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've create add ticket like a rock concert. Red is for preorders and blue is for walk-ins.
FEYERICK: A truck load of books were stolen in London. So far no sight of those especially hot copies.
EDEN ROSS LIPSON, "NEW YORK TIMES" CHILDREN'S BOOK EDITOR: Talking about an almost 900-page book. If it were to appear on the Internet right this minute, just downloading it would take longer than waiting until you could go and buy the book. FEYERICK: With midnight sales from Australia to California, it's inevitable, some people will have the book earlier than others.
(on camera): You're not going to be able to read the book as soon as your friends in London but you'll be able to read it before your friends in Houston. So you're ahead of the game.
Yes. Ahead in a way and behind in a way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: So even with the glitch of this book being available in Brooklyn and excerpted in the paper, the "Daily News." They put details of this -- we can't really show you for different reasons -- but it's really pretty safe to say short of a meteor hitting the earth, nothing is going to hurt the sale of this book.
COOPER: And this thing is going to do amazingly. It's quite serious. They're during the "Daily News" because they published some excerpts.
FEYERICK: They are suing them. Everybody had an agreement that says they wouldn't release details. Now, obviously the "Daily News" didn't sign that agreement. A first amendment lawyer I spoke to said they'll have to prove it was copyright infringement which they're claiming and not fair use. Given the book is going to be available come stroke of 12:01 Saturday, it may be a bit hard to prove. And again, it's not going to dent sales.
COOPER: All right. Well, I guess publicity I guess helps. Deborah Feyerick, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Publishing Excerpts>
Aired June 18, 2003 - 20:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The last stop on our time line is a developing story. Nothing short witchcraft is supposed to make the new Harry Potter book materialize in reader's hands until Saturday at midnight, that's when it's released. But today "New York Daily News" published a plot synopsis and quotes from a copy of the book sold early at a Brooklyn health food store. The paper has been hit with a lawsuit by author J. K. Rowling herself, and Scholastic the books publisher. As Deborah Feyerick, other book sellers are going to great lengths to keep the book under wraps.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At placed like Barnes and Noble, they're locked away in basements and guarded by alarms.
MARY ELLEN KEATING, BARNES AND NOBLE: All of our employees and book sellers know this room is really off limits.
FEYERICK: It's the order of the phoenix, you know, Harry, hogwarts, 8.5 million copies of Potter part 5 ready for sale in the U.S. alone. No one is breathing a word because security is so tight, no one can get their hands on it.
PETER GLASSMAN, BOOKS OF WONDER: They'd have to break through our gates and break through the door and break through the back door to get here. All of which have locks on them.
FEYERICK: Book dealers like Peter Glassman, even had to swear not to open the boxes until midnight Saturday.
(on camera): We're talking about rock concert security here, I mean we even got tickets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've create add ticket like a rock concert. Red is for preorders and blue is for walk-ins.
FEYERICK: A truck load of books were stolen in London. So far no sight of those especially hot copies.
EDEN ROSS LIPSON, "NEW YORK TIMES" CHILDREN'S BOOK EDITOR: Talking about an almost 900-page book. If it were to appear on the Internet right this minute, just downloading it would take longer than waiting until you could go and buy the book. FEYERICK: With midnight sales from Australia to California, it's inevitable, some people will have the book earlier than others.
(on camera): You're not going to be able to read the book as soon as your friends in London but you'll be able to read it before your friends in Houston. So you're ahead of the game.
Yes. Ahead in a way and behind in a way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: So even with the glitch of this book being available in Brooklyn and excerpted in the paper, the "Daily News." They put details of this -- we can't really show you for different reasons -- but it's really pretty safe to say short of a meteor hitting the earth, nothing is going to hurt the sale of this book.
COOPER: And this thing is going to do amazingly. It's quite serious. They're during the "Daily News" because they published some excerpts.
FEYERICK: They are suing them. Everybody had an agreement that says they wouldn't release details. Now, obviously the "Daily News" didn't sign that agreement. A first amendment lawyer I spoke to said they'll have to prove it was copyright infringement which they're claiming and not fair use. Given the book is going to be available come stroke of 12:01 Saturday, it may be a bit hard to prove. And again, it's not going to dent sales.
COOPER: All right. Well, I guess publicity I guess helps. Deborah Feyerick, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Publishing Excerpts>
