Book News: J.K. Rowling Comes Out Swinging in RDR Books Harry Potter Lexicon Suit
Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 3/4/2008 5:40:00 AM
- Potter creator says Harry Potter Lexicon constitutes a “rip off”
- Publisher’s lawyer insists that lexicon of author’s works is “long-recognized genre”
“I believe that RDR’s book constitutes a Harry Potter ‘rip off’ of the type I have spent years trying to prevent, and that both I, as creator of this world, and fans of Harry Potter, would be exploited by its publication,” Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling stated in court papers against publisher RDR Books in an attempt to block the publication of The Harry Potter Lexicon, written by librarian Steve Vander Ark.
The volume is based on Vander Ark’s Potter web site of the same name, which Rowling previously has praised. “I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried to co-opt my work for financial gain,” continued Rowling.
RDR and Vander Ark,however, contend that the Lexicon would only further promote the sale of Rowling’s work. RDR’s attorney Lizbeth Hasse compared the Lexicon to“a reference book or a guide to literature, it’s a long-recognized genre. We are not replacing the novel or taking away the market.” Rowling is compiling her own Potter encyclopedia for future publication.
The case will be tried March 13.
