Book News: Publisher Ponders Potter Appeal

Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 09/16/2008

• Lawyers expected to file this week
• Judge rules book not publishable in current form
• Author Vander Ark willing to “see what can be done”

RDR Books publisher Roger Rappaport isn’t giving up hope of publishing The Harry Potter Lexicon, despite losing a copyright suit filed against him by J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers blocking its release. Michigan’s Freep.com reports that Rappaport and author Steven Vander Ark, who both reside in the state, “expect their attorneys this week to file a notice of appeal preserving the men’s right to continue the legal battle for their Harry Potter book.” U.S. District Court Judge Robert P. Patterson’s decision stated that the Lexicon in its current form violated the plaintiff’s rights, perhaps indicating that a rewrite/reedit would render it publishable. Vander Ark asserts he’s “always been very much willing to work with” the plaintiffs “to see what can be done.” Following Patterson’s ruling, RDR released a statement on its homepage saying it was “encouraged by the fact the court recognized that as a general matter authors do not have the right to stop the publication of reference guides and companion books about literary works…RDR is considering all of its options.”