Copyright Lawsuit Against J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Dismissed by Judge
J.K. Rowling
Posted by: Edward
January 06, 2011, 10:10 PM
A lawsuit against Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling and the book's UK publisher, Bloomsbury, by the estate of the late Adrian Jacobs has been dismissed by the judge, a statement from US Potter publisher Scholastic reveals. The statement reads:
Scholastic is extremely pleased that Judge Scheindlin decided to dismiss, at the earliest stage possible, the lawsuit brought against Scholastic by the estate of Adrian Jacobs. The Court's swift dismissal supports our position that the case was completely without merit and that comparing Willy the Wizard to the Harry Potter series was absurd. Judge Scheindlin clearly agreed, stating: “…the contrast between the total concept and feel of the works is so stark that any serious comparison of the two strains credulity.” Scholastic will continue to vigorously defend any such frivolous claims challenging the originality of Harry Potter and the brilliant imagination of its author, J.K. Rowling.
This ruling follows a request for dismissal petitioned by Bloomsbury
last July. Previously, the e
state of Mr. Jacobs charged the publisher and Ms. Rowling with copyright infringement of a 1987 work The Adventures of Willy the Wizard-No 1 Livid Land.
common sense prevails!
it was so obviously just a stunt by the estate for publicity in the hope that they’d make some money. unfortunately, it probably worked, people probably read the book just to compare, although I didn’t on principle. I have nothing against the original author, who was not behind these claims.
It is entirely possible for two people to come up with stories with similarities without any knowledge of each other’s work. It is also very possible for someone to produce a story line that turns out to be similar to another work of similar or different media without having any knowledge of that material. Not to sound crazy (I am in fact sane and educated, however also spiritual) but I agree with Michael Jackson’s notion that when an idea comes to you there is a certain amount of time you have to make something of it before it is (cosmically) given to someone else. (BTW not a huge Michael fan, music aside, but everyone is right about something some of the time) When it happens to you and you don’t take it and run with it, all you should do is kick your own butt for working on it too slow or with less intensity. What you should not do is sue the person who took it and ran with it when you’ve had 10 or 20 or however many years to do something with it.
We live in a society that blames everyone else for their own circumstances, rather than admitting that they have to change or move on. People will always be jealous of how far JK ran with her little spark of an idea and want a piece of her. It is just a shame that these things aren’t thrown out as soon as they come in; but as you learn in life, everyone has the right to waste your time, especially if you choose to go into law.
Yay! One less frivolous lawsuit in the world. Too bad more judges don’t throw out junk lawsuits among average people.