JK Rowling wins Harry Potter encyclopaedia case
Rowling prevents publication of unofficial Harry Potter encyclopaedia
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Tuesday, 09, Sep 2008 10:46
JK Rowling has been victorious in her legal attempt to prevent the publication of an unofficial reference book about the Harry Potter series.
In a New York City ruling, Judge Robert Patterson said the author had proven that Steven Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon would cause her irreparable harm as a writer.
The millionaire filed a suit against Vander Ark and publishers RDR Books last year to halt the publication of the encyclopaedia, a 400-page reference book compiled from Vander Ark's website of the same name
After Monday's judgement, Rowling, 43, professed her delight that the book - which she labelled "wholesale theft" of her works in an April court declaration - would not reach the shelves.
"I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work," she said.
"The court has upheld that right."
She added: "The proposed book took an enormous amount of my work and added virtually no original commentary of its own.
"Many books have been published which offer original insights into the world of Harry Potter. The Lexicon just is not one of them."
Confirming his judgement, which also saw Rowling and Warner Bros Entertainment awarded £3,850 in statutory damages, Judge Patterson explained that Vander Ark had gone too far in his attempt to create a Harry Potter encyclopaedia.
"While the Lexicon, in its current state, is not a fair use of the Harry Potter works, reference works that share the Lexicon's purpose of aiding readers of literature generally should be encouraged rather than stifled," he added.
He confirmed he ruled in favour of Rowling as the "Lexicon appropriates too much of Rowling's creative work for its purposes as a reference guide".
RDR Books said it was "disappointed" with the ruling and would consider "all of its options".
"We are encouraged by the fact the court recognised that as a general matter authors do not have the right to stop the publication of reference guides and companion books about literary works," a statement added.