"He just wanted to get the book online" and did not appear to be seeking commercial gain, Aix prosecutor Olivier Rothe said Wednesday. The boy apparently compiled the entire translation himself, Rothe said.Comment dites-vous le « geek » en français?
The teenager, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was picked up Monday after a complaint from Paris police and was released Tuesday after questioning, Rothe said. He said the boy could face charges for violating intellectual property rights.
The French agency for fighting counterfeiting alerted author J.K. Rowling and Gallimard Jeunesse, the publishing house that is releasing the official French translation on Oct. 26, of the unauthorized version, Gallimard said Wednesday. The publishing house said it offered its support to the agency's investigation.
Gallimard spokeswoman Marie Leroy-Lena said official "Harry Potter" translator Jean-Francois Menard is still working on "Deathly Hallows," since he received the official English version only when it was officially released. Menard refused to comment on the pirated version.
Readers eager for the seventh and final Potter adventure are frustrated that it is taking him so long.
"To wait three months to have a French version, that is too much!" said Ketty Do, 17, flipping through the English-language version at a bookstore on the Champs-Élysées.
What I'd also like to know is how the real translators deal with the character Fleur. She's French, so author Rowling has written her lines with a French "accent." For example, "Zat will make zings easier," and "Ah, she eez charmante, your aunt." So, how do you translate a French accent into French? Make her a Cockney?
