Case Dismissed

The author of the phenomenal Book Series of Harry Potter, Ms. J.K. Rowling succeeded in blocking publication of a Potter encyclopedia when a judge agreed yesterday that a fan and Web site operator who was ready to sell the guide had violated her copyrights.

Harry Potter Lexicon created by Steven Vanders Ark, would cause her irreparable harm and it decreases her reputation as a writer. Rowling said she was “delighted” with the ruling, adding, “I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work. The court has upheld that right.” Warner Bros. also said it was pleased with the ruling.

Rowling and Warner Bros., maker of the Harry Potter films and owner of intellectual property rights to the Potter books and movies, sued Michigan-based RDR Books last year to stop publication of material from the Harry Potter Lexicon Web site. Vander Ark, a former school librarian, runs the site, which is a guide to the Potter books and includes detailed descriptions of characters, creatures, spells and potions.

The small publisher agreed that nearly everything in the lexicon came from Rowling, but argued that it was a fair use allowable by law for reference books. In his ruling, Patterson noted that reference materials are generally useful to the public but that in this case, Vander Ark went too far, "bypassing" Ms. Rowling.