Harry Potter and the RIAA Goblins

I recently finished the final book in the Harry Potter series and found that it brought a satisfying close to the story. One thing, however, stood out to me as I read it: At one point someone is explaining to Harry how a Goblin’s sense of ownership differs greatly from those of Wizards. Specifically on page 517 we see:

“You don’t understand, Harry, nobody could understand unless they have lived with goblins. To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs.”

“But if it was bought – ”

”- then they would consider it rented by the one who had paid the money. They have, however, great difficulty with the idea of goblin-made objects passing from wizard to wizard. […] They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made objects, passing them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more than theft.”

A quick search over the aether-weave tells me that I am not the only person to have noticed that this appears to be a perfect allegory for the current troubles plaguing our society in regards to ownership of purchased content (MP3s, DVDs, and other acronyms) and, more specifically, misguided attempts by the creators of said content to restrict its usage by those who have rightfully purchased it.

I don’t know if this is what the author intended, but the similarities are so distinct that I find it hard to believe otherwise. On a side note; I now have a used copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for sale, if anyone is interested.

September 25, 2007, 8:59 am permalink | general |

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