By Jane Croft, Law Courts Correspondent - Financial Times
Published: July 28 2010
The multi-millionaire author and Bloomsbury, her publisher, are attempting to strike out a lawsuit brought by trustees of the estate of the late Adrian Jacobs, which claims that themes from Mr Jacobs’ 1987 book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard are replicated in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, published 13 years later in July 2000.
The seven Harry Potter books, which are among the fastest-selling of all time, have become a global brand worth about £7bn ($11bn).
London-born Mr Jacobs, who was once a millionaire businessman and lawyer, suffered a stroke in late 1987 and was bankrupted for a second time in 1991. He died in a charity hospital in 1997.
On Wednesday John Baldwin QC, representing Ms Rowling, told the High Court that the copyright infringement claim should be dismissed before it went to trial. Ms Rowling “did not copy the claimants work and there are no grounds for thinking otherwise”, he said.
He added that her work and Mr Jacobs’ work “are so different from each other” it was “fanciful” to suggest that the Harry Potter book reproduced part of Mr Jacob’s book.
“We do not hold back – we say the allegations are a disgrace ... and should never have been made,” he told Mr Justice Kitchin, who has been asked to give summary judgment on whether the claim should proceed to trial.
Full report at FT.
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