Rowling Sues Potter Fan Site
The author of the blockbuster Harry Potter series has made a point of expressing support for fan-driven efforts in the past. She has singled out a Web site offering a fan-created "Harry Potter Lexicon" and its editor, Steve Vander Ark, for high praise.
But writer J.K. Rowling and the maker of the Harry Potter films are suing a small publisher in Michigan over its plans to release a book version of the popular Lexicon Web site. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in a federal court in Manhattan, Rowling claimed the print version of the Lexicon would improperly interfere with her plans to write her own definitive Harry Potter encyclopedia, one that would include new material not in the novels.
"I cannot, therefore, approve of 'companion books' or 'encyclopedias' that seek to pre-empt my definitive Potter reference book for their authors' own personal gain," Rowling said in a statement, released by Warner Bros. The film giant owns all the intellectual property related to the Potter books and movies.
The suit, filed on Halloween, claims that RDR Books will infringe on Rowling's intellectual property rights if it goes ahead with its plan to publish the 400-page "Harry Potter Lexicon" on Nov. 28.Photos: Pottermania Around the World
According to the publisher, the book contains much of the same material already found on www.hp-lexicon.org, a fan-created collection of essays and encyclopedic material on the Harry Potter universe, including lists of spells and potions found in the books, a catalog of magical creatures, and even a "who's who in the wizarding world."
RDR Books Publisher Roger Rapoport said he was dismayed by the suit, but he vowed he wouldn't allow it to block plans to release the Lexicon.
He described the book as a "critical reference work" and dismissed any notion that it could compete with any official encyclopedia written by Rowling.
Rapoport said Vander Ark was a middle school librarian who started the Web site in his spare time in 2000, then watched its popularity grow to the point at which Rowling herself gave it a Fan Site Award in 2004.
"He cannot understand why she wouldn't be supportive now," Rapoport said.
Warner Bros. has involved Vander Ark in its Potter marketing campaigns in the past. An interview with Vander Ark is even slated to be included in the special features section of the next Harry Potter DVD, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
An e-mail to Vander Ark at an address provided on the Web site was not immediately returned.
The lawsuit doesn't seek action against the Web version of the Lexicon, but the suit criticizes the site for numerous sections that it said "regurgitate Ms. Rowling's original creative expression with minimal additional commentary."