MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-09-01 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] The right to read
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In early July, the Real Canadian Superstore, a big-box grocery chain in
Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, accidentally sold fifteen copies of
The Half-Blood Prince before the authorised release date. The Canadian
publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction (PDF copy) from the
Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from
reading the books before the official release date or of discussing the
contents. Purchasers were offered a Harry Potter T-shirt and an
autographed copy of the book if they returned their copies before 16
July.
On July 15, less than twelve hours before the book went on sale in the
Eastern time zone, Raincoast warned The Globe and Mail newspaper that
publishing a review from a Canada-based writer at midnight, as the paper
had promised, would be seen as a violation of the anti-reading
injunction. The injunction sparked a number of news articles questioning
the injunction's restriction on fundamental rights. [3] [4] Canadian law
professor Michael Geist has posted commentary on his weblog. [5] Richard
Stallman has posted on his weblog calling for a boycott until the
publisher issues an apology. [6] The Globe and Mail published a review
from two UK-based writers in its July 16 edition and posted the Canadian
writer's review on its website at 9 am that morning. [7] Commentary was
also provided on the Raincoast website.
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