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JK Rowling sued for plagiarism again
by Ishita Sood - February 19, 2010 - comments
This is not the first time Rowling has been sued. The world's wealthiest author was earlier sued in a case of plagiarism in 2002. The case was brought by American author Nancy Stouffer who had claimed that her character “Larry Potter” was the exact copy of Rowling's “Harry Potter.”
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been sued by British author Adrian Jacobs who alleges that Rowling has used ideas from his novel “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No. 1 Livid Land.”
The Times Online said on Thursday that the lawsuit was filed in London and that Jacobs’ estate believes Rowling has used concepts of the wizardry competition in her 2000 novel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
On hearing the news Rowling said that she is “saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry. The fact is, I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book.
“The claims that are made are not only unfounded but absurd and I am disappointed that I, and my U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, are put in a position to have to defend ourselves," she further said.
Rowling sued yet again
This is not the first time Rowling has been sued. The world's wealthiest author was earlier sued in a case of plagiarism in 2002.
The case was brought by American author Nancy Stouffer who claimed that her character “Larry Potter” was the exact copy of Rowling's “Harry Potter.” However, Stouffer had lost the case.
“I estimate it's a billion-dollar case. When you think of all the money that's involved, I would say $1 billion is a conservative estimate,” said Jacobs’ agent Max Markson who is representing Paul Allen, the trustee of Jacobs' estate.
Jacobs has only sold about 5,000 copies of his book so far.
However, Rowling completely denies allegations about plagiarism.
"We will be applying to the Court immediately for a ruling that the claim is without merit and should therefore be dismissed without delay," said Rowling.
Rowling cited classic authors behind her inspiration
In various interviews the author has cited some authors behind her inspiration for books; Chaucer, Shakespeare, and C.S. Lewis being few.
Writer Lauren Barack said regarding the same, “Given the success of Rowling’s Potter series it seems unlikely that she’ll stop being a lightning rod for suits of this nature. While her stories are hugely popular, they do mirror many archetypes and story arcs found in popular tales.”