NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters Legal) - A Manhattan federal
judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit accusing "Harry Potter"
author J.K. Rowling of copying the work of another author when
writing "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
But the estate of late author Adrian Jacobs, which said the
plot of Goblet of Fire copied parts of his book "Willy the
Wizard" including a wizard contest, vowed to continue its legal
action in Britain's High Court.
The Goblet of Fire is the fourth of seven novels in the
wildly successful boy wizard series that has been turned into a
multi-billion-dollar film franchise.
Scholastic Corp, the U.S. publisher of the books, welcomed
the move by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, quoting the
judge as saying "...the contrast between the total concept and
feel of the works is so stark that any serious comparison of
the two strains credulity."
"The Court's swift dismissal supports our position that the
case was completely without merit and that comparing Willy the
Wizard to the Harry Potter series was absurd," the company said
in a statement.
Jacobs's estate said it regretted the U.S. decision, and was
considering whether to lodge an appeal.
"Jacobs' estate will continue to vigorously pursue its claim
in London," estate trustee Paul Allen said in a statement.
"The massive amount of evidence brought by the estate in the
English High Court included forensic linguistic analysis,
factual testimony relating to Rowling and her agent Chris
Little, and evidence from experts in children's fantasy
literature demonstrating startling similarities between the two
books."
In October, a judge overseeing the London case said claims
made by Allen were "improbable", although he denied a request
by lawyers for Rowling and her British publisher for immediate
dismissal of the case.
According to his estate, Jacobs, who wrote "The Adventures
of Willy the Wizard -- No 1 Livid Land" in 1987, had at one
point sought the services of literary agent Christopher Little,
who later became Rowling's agent. It added that Jacobs died
"penniless" in a London hospice in 1997.
Bloomsbury said Rowling had never heard of Jacobs's book
before the copyright claim was first made in 2004, almost seven
years after the publication of the first book in the Harry
Potter series.
Jacobs's estate said a 10-day trial was due to take place at
the High Court in February 2012.
The case is Allen v. Scholastic Inc, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 10-cv-5335. Court filings
list Andrews Kurth's Joseph Patella (New York), Thomas Kline
(Washington, D.C.) and Michele Schwartz (Dallas) as counsel for
Allen. Dale Cendali, Claudia Ray and Courtney Schneider of
Kirkland & Ellis in New York are listed as counsel for
Scholastic.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Mike Collett-White of Reuters;
Additional reporting by Terry Baynes of Reuters Legal)