Rowling feels cheated by

NEW YORK:

As the creator of the Harry Potter books sees it, her kindness to fans might come back to haunt her.

JK Rowling has sued to prevent the publication of an unauthorised reference work, Harry Potter Lexicon. In papers filed for a lawsuit in Manhattan, Rowling says she feels betrayed by a fan, Steven Vander Ark, for his role in trying to publish an unauthorised reference work, Harry Potter Lexicon.

Vander Ark is editor of a Web site containing a fan-created collection of essays and encyclopaedic material on the Potter universe, including lists of spells and potions found in the books, a catalogue of magical creatures and a who’s who in the wizarding world.

Rowling said she was especially irked that the site’s owner and the lexicon’s would-be publisher, RDR Books, continued to insist that her acceptance of free, fan-based Web sites justified the efforts.

“I am deeply troubled by the portrayal of my efforts to protect and preserve the copyrights I have been granted in the Harry Potter books,” she wrote in court papers filed on February 27 in a lawsuit she brought against the small Muskegon, Michigan, publisher.

“If RDR’s position is accepted, it will undoubtedly have a significant, negative impact on the freedoms enjoyed by genuine fans on the Internet,” she said. “Authors everywhere will be forced to protect their creations much more rigorously.” . — Agencies