J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit on October 31, 2007 against RDR Books to block the publication of The Harry Potter Lexicon, an unofficial reference guide to the Harry Potter series of books and movies. The Fair Use Project of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society announced December 4th that it is signing on as co-counsel to RDR Books right to publish the book.

Warner Bros., which owns the film rights to the Harry Potter books, and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling claim that the 400-page Harry Potter Lexicon violates copyright and trademark law and infringes on Rowling’s plans to publish her own companion book.

RDR Books contends it has the right to publish the encyclopedic reference book under the fair use doctrine, which safeguards the use of copyrighted material so long as it is used transformatively and does not damage the market value of the original work. "The Harry Potter Lexicon draws material and inspiration from the Harry Potter series but is an entirely new piece of work,” said David S. Hammer, co-counsel for RDR Books. “It is a companion to Rowling’s work, not a substitute for it. No one is going to buy the Lexicon instead of a Harry Potter book, or instead of seeing a Harry Potter film.”

“The public has long enjoyed the right to create reference guides that discuss literary works, comment on them, and make them more accessible,” said Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project, who will serve as counsel on the case. “J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. are threatening that right. We intend to demonstrate that the fair use doctrine protects the Harry Potter Lexicon.”

According to the RDR Books web site, “A complete copy of the book has been furnished to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. to make sure that they know the proposed reference book does not violate the copyright of any of the Harry Potter novels or threaten Ms. Rowling's proposed encyclopedia that will add new information on the series.”

RDR Books planned to release The Harry Potter Lexicon, authored by librarian Steve Vander Ark, in the United States on November 28, 2007. On October 31, 2007, Warner Brothers and Rowling filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District to halt the book’s publication. The suit claims RDR Books and unnamed defendants misappropriated Rowling’s “fictional characters and universe” in violation of the Copyright Act, the Lanham Act, and New York state law.

On November 8, 2007, Judge Robert B. Paterson Jr. issued a temporary restraining order, voluntarily entered into by both parties, delaying RDR’s completion and distribution of the book.

“This book is a reference work based on more than seven years of research by a distinguished volunteer team of librarians and academics,” explained co-counsel Julie Ahrens, associate director of the Fair Use Project. “Fair use protects scholars’ rights to create such companion guides. It simply is not the case that authors can exploit copyright law to prevent analysis and commentary on their work.”

Source: Stanford Law School and RDR Books