MANHATTAN (CN) - J.K. Rowling vanquished her intellectual property opponent Monday when a federal judge permanently enjoined RDR Books from publishing "The Harry Potter Lexicon," a guidebook to Rowling's best-selling series. U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr. also ordered RDR to pay $6,750 in statutory damages.
Steven Jan Vander Ark, a librarian and Harry Potter fan, thus cannot publish his guide to Rowling's series, for which he said there was a considerable demand. Warner Bros., which made the Harry Potter movies, joined Rowling in suing for copyright violations.
The ruling came 5 months after a 4-day trial, during which Rowling described the "Lexicon" as "wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work."
The next day at trial, Vander Ark sobbed on the stand, clearly upset that he had annoyed Rowling.
Judge Patterson found that RDR Books "failed to establish its affirmative defense of fair use."
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