Rowling says encyclopedia is 'wholesale theft' of her work

NEW YORK -- J.K. Rowling testified Monday before a packed courtroom in a lawsuit to block publication of a Harry Potter lexicon, telling a judge that the book amounts to a "wholesale theft" of nearly 20 years of her hard work.

"We all know I've made enough money. That's absolutely not why I'm here," Rowling said in court.

The British author sued Michigan-based RDR Books last year to stop publication of Steven Vander Ark's "Harry Potter Lexicon," claiming copyright infringement. Vander Ark runs the popular Harry Potter Lexicon Web site, and RDR wants to publish a print version of the site and charge $24.95.

Rowling claims the book is nothing more than a rearrangement of her own material and told the judge it copied so much of her work it amounted to plagiarism.

"I think it's atrocious. I think it's sloppy. I think there's very little research," she testified. "This book constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work."

She also said she has recently started work on her own encyclopedia but does not expect to complete it for two to three years because she wants to do it right.

RDR's attorney, Anthony Falzone, has defended the lexicon as a reference guide, calling it a legitimate effort "to organize and discuss the complicated and very elaborate world of Harry Potter." The small publisher is not contesting that the lexicon infringes upon Rowling's copyright but argues that it is a fair use allowable by law for reference books.

The nonjury trial will be decided by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr., who must determine whether the use of the material is legal because Vander Ark added his own interpretation, creativity and analysis.

In sometimes emotional testimony, Rowling recalled starting work on the first book in 1991 when she was 25 and so destitute that she sometimes had to choose between purchasing typewriter ribbon and food.

Rowling choked up when her attorney, Dale Cendali, asked what Harry Potter meant to her.

"I really don't want to cry," the mother of three said. Then she added, "These characters continue to mean so much to me over a long period of time. The closest you could come is to say, 'How do you feel about your children?' These books, they saved me."

Rowling also testified she had stopped work on a new novel because the lawsuit has "decimated my creative work over the last month."