A US judge has halted publishing of an unofficial encyclopedic companion to the popular Harry Potter book serial publication in a copyright suit author JK Rowling argued would jeopardize other authors.
Judge Robert Patterson in US District Court in Manhattan wrote an opinion that said independent US book publisher RDR Books "had failed to establish an affirmative defense of clean use" and that publishing of The Harry Potter Lexicon should not proceed.
The ruling aforementioned Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc and Rowling had established copyright infringement of the Harry Potter series and two fellow traveller books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages.
The British author and Warner Bros, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc, sued RDR Books, which planned to publish the lexicon, a 400-page point of reference book written by Steve Vander Ark, based on his fan website.
Lawyers for RDR Books could not forthwith be reached for input on Monday's ruling, which said that if an injunction on the lexicon was not issued "suspect is potential to continue infringing plaintiffs' copyright in the future."
In court in April, Rowling, estimated by the Sunday Times to be charles Frederick Worth about $1 billion, said she was outraged her work was considered to be honest game because it was so popular.
At the same hearing Vander Ark, eroding eye specs similar to those worn by Harry Potter, aforesaid his book was intended to avail readers and celebrate Rowling's work. He denied accusations of plagiarism.
But Patterson's ruling in favour of Rowling's position aforesaid that "because the Lexicon appropriates likewise much of Rowling's creative work for its purposes as a reference guide, a permanent injunction must issue to prevent the possible proliferation of deeds that do the same and so deplete the incentive for original authors to create new works".
An attorney for Warner Bros and Rowling could non immediately be reached for comment on the ruling.
The judge awarded Warner Bros and Rowling damages of US$750 for each of the seven novels around the boy wizard and US$750 each of the two fellow traveller books for a add together of US$6750.
"Since the Lexicon has non been published and thence plaintiffs sustain suffered no harm beyond the fact of the infringement, the court awards plaintiffs the minimum awards for each work to which plaintiffs have established infringement," the opinion said.
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