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Deep Discount Accidently Ships "Harry Potter" Early!

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Deep Discount Accidently Ships "Harry Potter" Early!

Old 07-19-07, 12:07 PM
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Please note that I've deleted a short sequence of posts in this thread

Anyone wishing to talk about the contents of the book, as opposed to Deep Discount's error and similar occurrences, please do so in the dedicated thread here:

One & Only Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows thread [possible spoilers - duh!]

Thanks in advance to all for their co-operation and understanding.
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Old 07-19-07, 12:16 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by Xbox69
Could Scholastic go after any eBayers even though it was the retailer who broke the street date? I'm thinking these receipients are under no legal obligation.
No, but they can use this fact (assuming they can trace those copies back to DD) as part of their "damages" in their lawsuit.
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Old 07-19-07, 12:22 PM
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benedict> THANK YOU!
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Old 07-19-07, 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by JayDerek
I just never would've GUESSED an online retailer would pull something like this...i mean WHAT were they thinking??!!

Did they NOT think they'd get in trouble??
as Lecithin noted DEEP DOO DOO...
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Old 07-19-07, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Nuff
Scholastic's reaction to this is extremely offensive to me. Calling customers and invading their privacy to ask them to not read a book they legally purchased? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Its one thing to ask people to not spoil the book for people who don't want to know, that is reasonable...but calling people like that is simply offensive.
I don't see why it is offensive. What I find more offensive are the people deliberately trying to spoil this book for fans because they are complete asshats. Now, if they told you that you were absolutely forbidden to look at the cover or read the book under penalty of legal action or a leg-breaking, that would be offensive. It seems to me that they are asking politely and offering compensation for refraining from public broadcast of the book's contents.
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Old 07-19-07, 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by WillieTheShakes
Well, wmansir may have exaggerated just a touch. The injunction referred to "reading and discussing"...

From Quill and Quire magazine (the trade journal of the Canadian publishing industry):

Raincoast goes to court after Potter embargo broken

by Caroline Skelton
July 12, 2005: After a breach in the strict sales embargo on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Raincoast Books was granted a court injunction Saturday to prevent Harry Potter fans and the media from revealing the novel’s secrets before the book is officially released at 12:01 a.m. on July 16.

The B.C. Supreme Court restraining order prohibits early readers from publishing advance reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, or even reading and discussing the book. It also prohibits anyone from possessing a copy, unless authorized by the publishers.

Raincoast took this step after The Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam, B.C., temporarily put the books up for sale, selling what Raincoast marketing director Jamie Broadhurst would only call “a very small handful of copies.” (Store officials offered no comment.)

Broadhurst says the publisher is only trying to uphold J.K. Rowling’s agreement with her fans that “they should be the first people to discover the secrets of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

Raincoast is also attempting to reclaim the wayward books. Customers who have found themselves in possession of an early copy can call the publisher’s 1-800 number and a Raincoast representative will drive to the scene and collect the book until July 16, at which time it will be returned.

Asked how far Raincoast would travel to get back the books, Broadhurst replied, “We will move heaven and earth to make sure we are able to reclaim the books before July 16.” And if the court injunction isn’t enough, the publisher will even provide a ransom in the form of an “extra special gift” of a book plate signed by the author and a T-shirt to those who turn in their early copies.

Broadhurst says the measures are not designed to intimidate consumers who innocently and legitimately bought the book. “We in no way want to frighten or scare the small handful of innocent consumers who have purchased the books in good faith,” says Broadhurst. Ultimately, he says, “we’re asking that people respect the spirit of Harry Potter and of July 16.”

With its calls for absolute secrecy, the Harry Potter series has a history of court injunctions. In 2003, Raincoast obtained a temporary injunction against The Gazette of Montreal and the rest of the CanWest newspaper chain after the newspaper attempted to run a review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That same year, a Wal-Mart Canada store accidentally put the books out for sale early. Meanwhile, south of the border, a preview article in the New York Daily News garnered a US$100-million lawsuit.
that's crazy, how can you stop people who got them early from posting an early review? the publisher has a contract with the distributor and retailer, not the end user. how can you tell people that they can't posses a copy either they legally bought just because the retailer violated it's contract with the publisher?
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Old 07-19-07, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Xbox69
Could Scholastic go after any eBayers even though it was the retailer who broke the street date? I'm thinking these receipients are under no legal obligation.

if you use the official pictures and whatever they can go after you and have it taken down. if you take your own picture and write your own description they will probably call Ebay for a VERO or threaten to sue you even though they will probably lose.

since you don't have a contract with the publisher, i don't think US copyright law applies to taking your own picture for the right of first sale or for any of their demands about not selling it early
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Old 07-19-07, 02:52 PM
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Is this at all similar to review ebargos that film critics submit to? I guess that might be different, as they are allowed to view the film at the grace of the material's owner ....
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Old 07-19-07, 03:01 PM
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The guy who sold the book on eBay has an article on National Review about the experience.
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Old 07-19-07, 04:09 PM
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Has anybody received the $50 gift certificate yet?

I received the same call and they told me that I was going to get the gift certificate by email shortly. Nothing has arrived yet.

Has any of you had more luck? I tried to call Scholastic but they are not returning my call on this.

I hope they are not forcing us not read the book without sending anything in exchange. If that is the case I will go out and sell it on the street tonight! :-)
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Old 07-19-07, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Sean O'Hara
The guy who sold the book on eBay has an article on National Review about the experience.
ha ha! nice!

--
this isn't about "spoiler-ing" (i know that's not a word). it's about people (the book company) overreacting to an arbitrary "release date" that doesn't really matter. if Scholastic books called me, i'd laugh in their faces. kind of smacks of RIAA tactics in my opinion.
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Old 07-19-07, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by cybpiero
I received the same call and they told me that I was going to get the gift certificate by email shortly. Nothing has arrived yet.
They called me last night, but I still haven't received an email.
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Old 07-19-07, 04:41 PM
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I just managed to talk to the right person at Scholastic. They said that they will send the gift certificate next week. I guess they want to check that we behave before they send it :-)
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Old 07-19-07, 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by young
ha ha! nice!

--
this isn't about "spoiler-ing" (i know that's not a word).
You're correct, the real word is "spoilerizing"
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Old 07-19-07, 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Numanoid
There's a Saga DVD? Cool!
Crap, now everyone will try and order it and I'll never get it. I hate you for hating me
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Old 07-19-07, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by jw2299
Sorry, I quoted too much of the comment above mine. My wife doesn't have the book yet, just got an email from DDD that it shipped on Monday and the phone call from Scholastic yesterday.

Didn't mean to be misleading.

So do you have it NOW? (Ok, yeah, I can probably wait a day)
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Old 07-20-07, 12:49 AM
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Originally Posted by WillieTheShakes
Well, wmansir may have exaggerated just a touch. The injunction referred to "reading and discussing"...
Actually, if anything I undersold it. Here's the full text:

You are hereby notified that on July 9th, 2005, at approximately 4:30 Pacific daylight time, the Honourable Madam Justice Gill granted a John and Jane Doe restraining order to Raincoast Books, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and JK Rowling in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The court ordered an injunction;

(i) restraining John/Jane Does and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (“Harry Potter #6”) from John/Jane Does and anyone who is given notice of the order from copying or disclosing all or any part of Harry Potter #6 or any information derived therefrom including without limitation the story, plot or characters of Harry Potter #6 to any person prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005 without the consent of the Plaintiffs’ solicitors save for information which has been made the subject of any press release issued or other communication made by or on behalf of and with the authority of the Plaintiffs;

(ii) restraining John/Jane Does and anyone who is given notice of the order from displaying, reading, offering for sale, selling, exhibiting in public or without the express consent of the Plaintiffs possessing Harry Potter #6 prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005;

(iii) subject to paragraph (iv) below, restraining John/Jane Does, and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter #6 from John/Jane Does, and anyone who is given notice of the order, from making any use of, or destroying or concealing, or without the express consent of the Plaintiffs parting with possession, power, custody or control of any copy of Harry Potter #6 or any part of it or any copies thereof or any notes or descriptions of it prior to 12:01 a.m. local time on July 16, 2005;

(iv) compelling John/Jane Does and each of them and anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter #6 from John/Jane Does to deliver to the plaintiff Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd. forthwith any and all copies of Harry Potter #6 in their possession as well as any photocopies, photographs or electronic copies of any portion of that book and all notes or descriptions of it and to immediately delete all electronic copies of any part of that book in their possession or under their control.
http://raincoast.com/harrypotter/injunction.html

Also, the legal basis for all these actions is trade secret law. Until the book is published it is considered proprietary information and protected from unauthorized disclosure. It is not about copyright until the work is published.

Also, there was a story yesterday that they had recovered the metadata from the leaked photos and have the serial number for the camera. It's a 3 year old Canon Rebel 350. Unless/until the device is registered or serviced they won't have the owners name. They may be able to get the location it was sold.

Last edited by wmansir; 07-20-07 at 12:52 AM.
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Old 07-20-07, 09:51 AM
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fascinating. my husband was a receiving manager for a Barnes & Noble during the last release and they didn't do any of this. to go to the extent of reboxing the books, Borders must have been extremely terrified!!

Originally Posted by Dr. Forrester
I used to work for Borders, and before the last Potter release, I had to sign a document that basically stated if I so much as looked cross-eyed at the palette they were shipped-in on, I'd be fired . . . or sued . . . or fired and sued. The managerial staff was all pretty laid back, but I got the feeling corporate had put the fear of God (or at least prosecution) into them.

Funny part about the whole thing? How they labeled the shipment: Hanukkah Supplies. Seriously, that's how it was marked. By far that's my favorite "Scholastic tries to keep Potter new releases more secret than nuclear launch codes" detail.

My only disappointment about the whole thing? The next day we had planned to take one of the empty boxes with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" logo all over it, fill it with bricks, then leave it on the side of the road in the back of the store. My supervisor dug the idea, but then the store manager vetoed it on the notion that whoever found it might open it first, then use said bricks to smash our windows. He was probably right, but it's still one of the better pranks I was almost party to.
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Old 07-20-07, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by silentbob007
I don't see why it is offensive. What I find more offensive are the people deliberately trying to spoil this book for fans because they are complete asshats. Now, if they told you that you were absolutely forbidden to look at the cover or read the book under penalty of legal action or a leg-breaking, that would be offensive. It seems to me that they are asking politely and offering compensation for refraining from public broadcast of the book's contents.
I agree people intentionally trying to spoil the book is offensive as well. But to answer your question.

The publisher tracking down a personal phone number and then calling it is invading my privacy. That is offensive.
The publisher asking me to not read a book until some arbitrary date, the reading of which will have no effect on them. And in fact they have no way of knowing if I read it before then. That is offensive.
Heck if I want to read the last page of a book first and "spoil" it for myself that is my right, anyone telling me to do anything private their way is offensive.

How exactly is looking up a phone number from a sale and invading privacy polite? How exactly are the "compensating" people? They aren't. All they are doing is insulting their customers.
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Old 07-20-07, 05:22 PM
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Someone wrote THREE BIG SPOILERS on the TITLE of a thread in the IMDb OOtP bulletin board

He or she did it just to piss people off. I have a feeling he or she is telling the truth

So don't go to the Bulletin Board at IMDb for OOtP.
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Old 07-20-07, 06:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Sean O'Hara
The guy who sold the book on eBay has an article on National Review about the experience.
He tried to sell the article to the Washington Post for $300, but they didn't bite. I imagine he settled for just getting his name in "print" (online anyway), as NRO doesn't usually pay for articles. Of course, he already made a tidy profit on the book.
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Old 07-20-07, 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Seeker
So do you have it NOW? (Ok, yeah, I can probably wait a day)

Didn't get it yesterday, or today. We're both kind of bummed. I was looking forward to being part of a scandal.
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Old 07-20-07, 11:29 PM
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Sounds like you're just like the rest of us... oh well.
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Old 07-21-07, 12:06 AM
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"$1 for shipping?"

He was certainly emailing the .pdf, hence the low S&H fee.

E
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Old 07-21-07, 03:31 AM
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OK, now the book is out this is less of a big issue and kind of deflects attention from the main event.

I think that one or two fewer tangential threads may now be a good thing but am open to private discussion to the contrary.

Closing thread (pro tem).
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