People’s Literature Publishing House is translating the new Harry Potter novel over the course of two months, down from the three months it took for the fifth volume.
They’re still too late, though, since Harry Potter fans have been collaborating on an online translation of the book from the moment it first came out, posting segments in forums and on message boards across the web. That translation is now complete.
Shanghai Daily News noted in late July that Rowling’s lawyer “confirmed in an e-mail that non-commercial fan fictions including online translations are permitted.” The Chinese publisher, however, has a different view – it has not ruled out suing Baidu for hosting the translations on its BBS service, under the philosophy that even if fans can translate freely, hosting and transmitting such translations violates copyright. People’s Literature is afraid that once the translation begins circulating online, the pirates won’t be too far behind.
Unauthorized translations were published for Order of the Phoenix, too, but the most widely available version was rife with errors, most glaringly in the translation of the title: “order” in was interpreted as “command” rather than “society.” The fan translation of Half-blood Prince looks to be an improvement. Forum commenters are calling it “complete” and “acceptable,” so we probably can expect paper copies on the street as soon as cover art can be worked up.
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