The Carpet Book

Related terms:	Spoiler,
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The last book in the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was to be officially released on July 21, 2007. Copies, however, were delivered to some fans four days early.

One of those fans, Mightygodking, posted the entire book via a series of photos to the internet. Each photo showed each pair of facing pages of the book as it was laid out on a beige red-and-green-flecked looped carpet and held open by somebody’s fingers. One fan described the carpet as "(really ugly industrial)."

This was "The Carpet Book," and it claimed to be a copy of The Deathly Hallows obtained illegitimately. Some of the photos were too blurry to read, but many were quite clear, including the one of the the highly anticipated ending.

The source of the photos was apparently from a copy of the book that had been shipped too early, something Scholastic (the publisher) took legal action for against retailer’s parent company and distributor, for “flagrant violations” of their contracts. one which stated that no one could ship any books before July 20, to ensure that no customer would receive a copy before 12:01 a.m. on July 21.

Scholastic, the United States publisher of the “Harry Potter” series, called numerous Web sites and asked them to take down the material. In one case, the publisher filed for a subpoena against Gaia Online, a social networking and gaming site, ordering the company to remove photos uploaded by a user. Another legal action Scholastic took was to ban Mightygodking's site.

Spoiler Hype

The excitement around the last book was intense. Even Wal-Mart wrote some fanfiction:

Wal-Mart’s Pledge to Harry Potter Fans

There’s plenty of excitement brewing,

As the final chapter draws near;

But hearing the story’s end from others,

Is what magicals and muggles all fear;

So at Wal-Mart worldwide we’ve decided,

To make a pledge to our customers that’s clear,

We’ll keep silent on what we discover July 21,

So you buy without fear of reveal here.

Fan Reaction

When the New York Times announced that it was a genuine leak, the resulting backlash was predictably dramatic.

Fans who chose to risk being spoiled by the photos were divided on whether or not the book was genuine. Fan response split into those who were outraged over the act of the leak, and those who were disappointed in the quality of the book.

The moderator of spoil-me-dh.livejournal posted Mightygodking's detailed summary of the book, including page numbers at spoil-me-dh.livejournal.com on July 19, 2007. Fans debated legalities of Mightygodking's posting the photos.

Some fans took issue with the moderator of spoil-me-dh.livejournal posting Mightygodking's summary verbatim, and supposedly without permission.

The mainstream press procured statements from high-profile Harry Potter fan sites such as Fiction Alley and Mugglenet.

Mainstream Press Called on Fansites

From CBS Evening News on July 14, 2007:

... some details may have leaked out. On Friday, The-Leaky-Cauldron.org, a fan site received what appear to be actual pages, says Melissa Anelli, the site's webmaster.

"Somebody scanned the first pages of several chapters and the summary of the book and just sent them to us, knowing full well our policy on spoilers, how we don't want them."

Anelli refused to post the pages and immediately turned them over to the publisher.

"It's our job to act as Scholastic's sentries. To act as sentries for her publishers and help stop this from happening," she says.

From the Washington Post on July 19, 2007:

The exact cause of the breach remains unclear: "We're knee-deep in an internal investigation, and we're taking the matter extraordinarily seriously," says Andrew Moscrip, a spokesman for DeepDiscount.com, who commented that he'd been instructed not to comment any further.

Not, likely, as seriously as the Potter fans who have become victims of stealth spoilers flooding their in-boxes. "People have been e-mailing us Xeroxed pages of the book all day," says Emerson Spartz, who founded the popular fan Web site Mugglenet.com. "Whoever happens to be opening the e-mail at that time takes a bullet for the team. We read it to make sure it's real, then pass the pages on to Scholastic so they can sic their [expletive] lawyers onto the offenders." Spartz says that though some forwarded messages have been artfully crafted fakes, the Xeroxed pages "had J.K. all over them.

The staff at FictionAlley.org was forced to close all its message boards to comments because meanies had begun posting entries with major plot points in the subject line. "It's really malicious," says Heidi Tandy, who runs FictionAlley. "It's one thing if you come across an early copy and want to read it. It's another to force vulnerable people to read it. We're all being attacked!"

Posting the Summary

[suzene]: I sure as hell hope you had Chris Bird's permission to post his review of the leak verbatim, you thieving little creep.

[Anonymous]:

But seriously. Did you get his permission? Or at least edit the post so that the attribution is there? If not, you really should just link to his original post. Otherwise, this is taking credit for his work and that's just not kosher at all.

His original post: http://mightygodking.livejournal.com/343960.html?style=mine

Mightygodking responded with:

I don't really have a problem with you reposting rather than linking (since the original post is going to be deleted in twenty-four hours to comply with the DCMA notice I received from LJ), but if you wouldn't mind A) adding a link to my general journal and B) adding a link to my review when I repost it on Friday, I would appreciate it.

I'd also suggest, for your own legal protection, you remove the Pirate Bay link to the book itself, since that would qualify as illegal dissemination of the materials itself and make you liable under American law. (If you're American, anyway, and even if you aren't LJ can slap a C&D on you for violating copyright.)

The C&D (and potential LJ account nuking) can happen because Livejournal is located in the States, and therefore bear responsibility for any violation of copyright on their journal. They'll of course give you the option to file a counternotice and leave them out of it, but either way, you're working under American copyright law since the violation is on an American server, you dig?

Is It a Hoax?

[El Hombre Mas Fiel (pridefall)]

- If it is a hoax, it is incredibly elaborate and follows many of the plot points JK has leaked ever since book six.

- When viewed or zoomed in, there a little to no pixels around the artwork or the words themselves, meaning that if it IS a photoshop it is an incredibly detailed one. JPG images also have a tendency to do this.

- Any other version except for the carpet version has been disproved by fairly simple means, whether it be the binding discoloration of the Flikr book or the outright lies of the first major site of spoilers.

- The syntax, the page numbers, the chapters and contents of the pages all match with the version that has been sent out already

- Scholastic, who at first were only silently covering their tracks, is now EVERYWHERE with cease and disi

- Finally, I ask you, in all sincerity, why has Rowling not said anything publicly yet? She could stop all the rumors with one swift email to a large fansite (muggle.net), and instead she's just talked to news sites and people already in the know about the book and told them to "keep hushed" about the entire matter.

*snickers*...so it ends

It will forever go down in history as the "historical book release that would have had everyone at the edge of their seats if it weren't for a Canon digital camera and the internet and a really bored person".

So, the leaked book that was lovingly dubbed Carpet!book was real after all, in spite of everyone being convinced that it reads just like a giant, horrible fanfiction.

Albus Severus, really.

Dissatisfaction with the Book

[Anonymous]: Excellent summary of what it seems a crappy book! I wasn't expecting JK to write a classic, but... "honestly"!

[Anonymous]:

This book sounds awful. How can the reviews that have been posted by Baltimore Sun and NY Times be taken for real?

I foresee a lot of HP fans being very disappointed with this book. Maybe I should take over for Trelawney.

[Anonymous]: The more I read of this the more I dread this book. I'm now wishing I hadn't purchased it at all. If this is the real book, I will not be watching the movie version.

[Anonymous]: Thanks for this whole run down. Oh man, that fanservice in the end is terrifying. Naming future kids James, Lily, and Albus Severus is the kind of stuff that gets mocked in bad fanfic. If she's going to go there then I'm going to at least assume that James' middle name is Sirius since James, Lupin, Snape, Dumbledore, and Lily all get namesakes (well the last name Lupin counts in my mind anyway). Aside from all the best adult characters dying, I think the saddest part is one of the twins dying. I'm a twin and the idea of having my brother die while I stay alive is horrible. If she was going to kill off a Weasley I always assumed it'd be Percy or at least Bill or Charlie.

[missvantango]:

No wonder JKR tried to hard to not have the book leaked. Not only does everyone find out beforehand that it's a pile of steaming wet horse dung, but it leaves a whole barrage of people who will write reviews that are better than the book and totally steal her thunder. =P

Does anyone else find it a little disturbing that the little group all ends up together? Harry marries the sister of his best mate, the Lupin kid ends up dating a Weasley... everyone would end up inbred if JK wrote HP: third generation.

[harpsi_fizz]: 50 years after her death when this is all public domain, maybe the editors will destroy the epilogue of doom.

Further Reading

• Harry Potter And The Book Seven Spoilers? Less Than One Week Until The Release Of The Final Harry Potter Book And Leaks Are Already Appearing, CBS Evening News (July 14, 2007)
• Spoiler Frenzy Follows Early Mailing of 'Hallows' by Monica Hesse (Washington Post) (July 19, 2007)
• Harry Potter and the Internet pirate by Raju Mudhar, The Toronto Star (July 18, 2007)