Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed in UK
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Worst heatwave in years grips Midwest, moving east
17 Jul 2011
Lawyer says Egypt's Mubarak in coma, TV denies
|
17 Jul 2011
Ratings agencies rattle cages in U.S., Europe
17 Jul 2011
Democrats, Republicans still at odds on debt ceiling
|
11:33am EDT
Moody's suggests U.S. eliminate debt ceiling
10:33am EDT
Discussed
102
Obama and lawmakers regroup to seek debt deal
100
Obama asks lawmakers to gauge support for debt deal
59
Obama eyes more deficit talks with no deal in sight
Watched
Flying sphere goes where man fears to tread
Thu, Jul 14 2011
Coalition forces raid Taliban stronghold
Sun, Jul 17 2011
Highway project in Los Angeles
Sun, Jul 17 2011
Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed in UK
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Factbox
Factbox: The Harry Potter phenomenon
Wed, Jul 6 2011
Related News
Special report: Inside Rebekah Brooks's News of the World
7:42am EDT
Fans, stars, Hollywood say farewell to Harry Potter
Fri, Jul 8 2011
Special Report: Murdoch row - why UK tabloids bin-dive and blag
Thu, Jul 7 2011
Timeline: Harry Potter saga ends with eighth film
Wed, Jul 6 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Fractional ownership is on the rise, so power up that corporate jet
“Reckless Endangerment” and the unwritten history of Washington
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
Lifestyle »
British author J.K. Rowling signs autographs outside Odense Concert Hall in Odense October 19, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Jens Norgaard Larsen/SCANPIX
LONDON |
Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:01am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - A lawsuit which accused J.K. Rowling of copying the work of another children's author when writing "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" has been dropped in Britain after the claimant failed to come up with the cash ordered by a judge as security.
The estate of late author Adrian Jacobs said that the plot for the Potter novel, the fourth of seven boy wizard stories that have sold more than 400 millions copies, borrowed parts of his book "Willy the Wizard."
"The case is dead for now," Max Markson, spokesman for the estate, said on Monday. "Can it be revived? Yes, it could be taken up in another country, another jurisdiction," he added.
Markson told a newspaper in 2010 that the lawsuit could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, given the huge commercial success of the Potter books and spin-offs including a record-breaking movie franchise.
The lawsuit had already been dismissed in the United States, and a judge at London's High Court said last year that the assertions of the claimant were "improbable."
But he turned down an application by lawyers for Rowling and her publisher Bloomsbury to dismiss the case outright.
Jacobs' estate was, however, required to pay a total of 1.6 million pounds ($2.6 million) to the court as a security against costs of the case should it eventually go to trial.
The estate failed to meet Friday's deadline to produce the first tranche of the money, said by sources involved in the case to be 850,000 pounds.
Bloomsbury and Rowling have consistently denied that she copied "substantial parts" of "The Adventures of Willy the Wizard -- No 1 Livid Land," written by Jacobs in 1987.
Her publisher said she had never heard of Jacobs' book before the copyright claim was first made in 2004, some four years after Goblet of Fire was published.
David Hooper, a partner with law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain who represented Bloomsbury, called the claims "hopeless and speculative."
Schillings, representing Rowling, said an enormous amount of time has been wasted refuting Jacobs' claim.
"As the Judge noted, those behind the claim set about publicizing the case with a view to exerting pressure and promoting their 'book'," the law firm said in a statement.
"Quite how they ever thought that we would succumb to pressure indicates a complete lack of understanding on their part. We are glad that the substantive action is now at an end."
Court sources said the Jacobs estate faced legal costs of 2-2.5 million pounds not including expenditure on its own case.
Jacobs' estate said the plot of Goblet of Fire copied elements of the story, including a wizard contest, and that the Potter series borrowed the idea of wizards traveling on trains.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Entertainment
Fashion
Lifestyle
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Monday, 18 July 2011 Pressure rises for Greek debt buy-back, swap
|
Carlos clutch: Guillen's RBI single lifts Tigers over White Sox in series finale
MP, top Karzai aide feared killed: police official
|
White Sox bid for 1,000th career victory over Tigers; lead 3-1 in fifth
Darren Clarke clutches Claret, superb play earns him 140th Open championship
Lawyer says Egypt's Mubarak in coma, TV denies
|
Mark Cavendish adds another Tour stage; Voeckler holds on to lead.
South Bend braces for economic hit of losing College Football Hall of Fame
Tunisian police fire in air to disperse rioters
|
U.S. Consulate issues warning to Americans in Chihuahua
California public schools must now teach gay history
Trichet: ECB would reject Greek bonds as collateral
|
Libya rebels fighting to capture eastern oil town
|
China assails U.S. over Dalai Lama, fallout seen limited
|
Syria forces besiege town after defections: residents
|
Lawyer says Egypt's Mubarak in coma, TV denies
|
Japanese contaminated beef sold in and around Tokyo
|
MP, top Karzai aide feared killed: police official
|
Courtney Cox To Write Beauty Blog
Thousands rally in Morocco over reform plan
|
NBC's Fashion Star Adds Nicole Richie and John Varvatos as Mentors
Taylor Swift's New Fragrance Wonderstuck Coming in October
Retired colonel calls for Aquino overthrow in video, gets no support
Peru's Humala says to reappoint central banker
|
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Bares (Almost) All for Burberry Body
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Add Handbags to Their Line at Barneys
Karzai senior adviser, lawmaker assassinated
Philippine adds 1967-built cutter to back up 1943-built warship for Spratlys patrol
Teen Mom Father Gary Shirley Makes Twitter Account for His Toddler
Casey Anthony leaves jail
Taiwan's HTC shares tumble after Apple ruling
|
Ivanka Trump, husband welcome new baby girl
|
Beckham baby debuts on Facebook
|
Iraq eyes U.S. trainers, not troops, after 2011
|
Petraeus hands over command in Afghanistan, to lead CIA
|
Lakers forward Lamar Odom involved in car accident
Russia says militant attack foiled in Moscow
|
Understanding Nigeria's Boko Haram radicals
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' sets record for best opening weekend
Robbers hold up guests at luxury Rio hotel
|
Treatment as prevention the tough road ahead
More autonomy, rights for ethnic Gurkhas
South Africa searches for Mandela's moral compass
|
Marc Anthony addresses split with Jennifer Lopez during concert
Pakistanis seek arrest of ex-CIA legal chief over drone attacks
|
Cash Cab kills 61-year-old Vancouver pedestrian
Rising shelter needs as more flee Kurram
Pakistan Taliban release video showing forces' execution
|
Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard mulling overseas move
Political leadership key to male circumcision success
Trial of Egypt's Mubarak may be on Red Sea: sources
|
Philips dims outlook after shock 1.3 billion euro loss
|
General Dynamics buys cloud computing service firm
|
Mobile devices to lead consumer electronics growth: report
|
New app connects art lovers to N.Y.'s Lincoln Center
|
Russia lures Hollywood, raising bar for local film
|
Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed in UK
|
Cheap Trick escape as Ottawa rock stage collapses
|
Breaking Bad: Questions answered in season premiere
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights