Mr Justice Kitchin has ruled that Harry Potter author JK Rowling and her publishing house Bloomsbury should face claims for copyright infringement in the High Court.
In rejecting the defendants’ application for summary judgment to dismiss the case, Kitchin J ruled that the claim had a chance of success although it was “improbable”. If the case goes to trial the claimant, Paul Allen, may have to provide security for costs, it was ruled.
DMH Stallard partner Nick Kounoupias instructed Blackstone Chambers’ Robert Howe QC to represent Allen in his claim against the author and publishing house.
The trustees of the estate of the late Adrian Jacobs, of which Allen is one, claim that themes from Jacobs’ 1987 book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard are copied in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was published in 2000, and allege that Rowling therefore has infringed copyright.
At a High Court hearing in July, 8 New Square’s John Baldwin QC, instructed by Schillings partner Gideon Benaim for JK Rowling, slammed the claim for lacking any merit. He described the claim as “absurd” and “a disgrace” and requested it be thrown out.
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain instructed Andrew Sutcliffe QC of 3 Verulam Buildings for Bloomsbury.
“I’ve reached the conclusion that this claim may succeed but that it’s improbable it will do so,” Kitchin J concluded.
The case will now be set down for a High Court hearing.
Readers' comments (8)
Penteado | 21-Oct-2010 3:09 pm
Hopefully not another architecture of ideas copyright claim case in analogy to the Da Vinci Code. P
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Rob | 21-Oct-2010 4:19 pm
Not a case for expeliamus, then.
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Warner | 21-Oct-2010 9:57 pm
ironic that the exact same claims were made in 2004, and were thrown out. Willy the wizard was photocopied... it was never published, and the claimed publisher allen has tried to claim published it is actually a canadian rock band, because no one in the publishing industry in britian ever heard of the existance of 'Buchman Turner publishing.'
The book, which has posted practically the whole book on its website, is not even publishable or age appropriate, and they have not provided evidence that christopher little ever saw the book...
besides, the claims are like "jk rowling stole willy the wizard because she has wizards who periodicly ride on trains to get from one place to another, and sometimes play chess..."
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Mark Wright | 22-Oct-2010 4:28 am
And they have put it out that Rowling "welcomes the decision". Duh? Didn't she do her damnedest to get it the case thrown out, or did we all miss something?
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Gary Yam | 26-Oct-2010 5:19 pm
Poor Joanna Rowling - forced to live in her Belsize Park Garden Flat under the stairs - until she realised that she was a wizard. Well, she must be, if she can rehash her boarding school days and a junior school book on classical mythology to make herself into a trillionaire.
Not that all these incantations aren't a precise discipline. Exactly the right amount of plagiarised Dungeons & Dragons, plus two ladles of hormones, three drams of teenaged angst plus a fleeting memory of Mallory Towers. Stir over an open cauldron with eye of newt and you get.....a licence to quantitatively ease that's called Harry Potter.
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Anonymous | 26-Oct-2010 6:17 pm
Gary Yam | 26-Oct-2010 5:19 pm
If it's that simple then why didn't you write it?
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jon park | 26-Oct-2010 9:28 pm
Gary Yam - just out of interest, have you ever actually read a Harry Potter book? And do you know anything at all about Joanne Rowling's actual academic history? (Like the fact that she studied Classics & Languages at university & it is this background which inspired some of the themes explored in the Harry Potter books - not exactly a 'junior school book on classical mythology' as you allege). Or is it just that you are getting on the bandwagon and engaging in the latest fashion for knocking anybody who happens to be successful in this country and ignoring the fact that the origin of this success lies in her undoubted talent as a fine childrens fantasy writer? Unless of course you are suggesting that anybody who happens to write a fantasy adventure for children around the theme of magic, spells, dragons etc is automatically plagiarising - but if that was the case then the authors of probably 50% of the children's section in any major bookstore would also be finding themselves in court defending an equally ridiculous claim.
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Brendan Archer | 27-Oct-2010 5:25 pm
I've always found J K Rowling an execrable writer, but having looked at some of Willy the Wizard it makes her appear a genius.
As to the "publishers" was not their one hit "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"?
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