Harry Potter 6 Early Release

Scarcely after I posed a rhetorical question regarding whether anyone would read The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before its official release, actual incidents took place wherein some fans were able to get a copy of the book earlier than the official release of July 16, 2005, namely in New York, USA and British Columbia, Canada.

It seemed that a supermarket in British Columbia mistakenly sold the books to 14 customers before realizing their grievous mistake. However, there were no details as to how it happened in New York.

I think the booksellers’ mistake was done out of sheer carelessness. If we were to base it on the boxes that were on display here in Manila, they were all clearly marked “DO NOT OPEN BEFORE JULY 16. 2005.”

In the British Columbia supermarket incident, for instance, we have to assume that it is a requirement for supermarket employees to be able to read, therefore, I assumed that they just did not bother to read the instructions on the boxes before opening them and putting the books on the shelves. I think that would be a more acceptable assumption than the possibility that they did read it and ignored the instruction anyway.

Raincoast, the official Canadian publishers of HPHBP, tried to entice the 14 early buyers with a personally signed book plate from JK Rowling and a “limited special edition T-shirt” if they returned the books.

Paltry rewards, I think, for returning one of the most coveted books, and definitely not enticing enough. I’m sure somebody out there bought one of the copies for thousands of pounds. There was more than enough time for such a sale, for the report regarding the early sale came out Tuesday, July 12, so it probably happened on Monday or even earlier. Besides, there was no report whether the 14 early buyers actually returned their copies.

To guarantee their silence, Raincoast obtained a gag order from the Canadian Supreme Court. This meant that anybody caught telling any or all part of the plot before July 16, 2005 would be sued. However, the fans in New York were not bound by the same gag order, although there was a report of one fan who did return the book (see news clipping above).

So I think that for the last installment of the series there should be a contractual agreement that whoever sells the book ahead of the official release date must pay a heavy fine and/or not allowed to sell the book, and, in addition, be sued. I think it’s just plain carelessness on the booksellers’ part not to be aware of something so crucial as an official release date.

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