John
06-16-2009, 06:58 AM
The publisher of the Harry Potter books has denied allegations that JK Rowling copied another author when she wrote the fourth instalment of her best-selling series.
Bloomsbury Publishing hit back after the estate of Adrian Jacobs, a children's writer who died "penniless" in 1997, launched a legal action over alleged copyright infringement.
The company said in a statement the allegatations of plagiarism were "unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue".
It added: "This claim is without merit and will be defended vigorously."
Jacobs' estate claimed Rowling copied "substantial parts" of The Adventures Of Willy The Wizard - No 1 Livid Land, which Jacobs wrote in 1987, when she penned Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.
Elements of the plot were also plagiarised, including a wizard contest, and the idea of wizards travelling on trains was borrowed, according to the allegations.
"Both Willy and Harry are required to work out the exact nature of the main task of the contest which they both achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers, in order to discover how to rescue human hostages imprisoned by a community of half-human, half-animal fantasy creatures," the estate's statement said.
"It is alleged that all of these are concepts first created by Adrian Jacobs in Willy the Wizard, some ten years before JK Rowling first published any of the Harry Potter novels and 13 years before Goblet Of Fire was published."
But Bloomsbury insisted Rowling had never heard of Adrian Jacobs nor seen, read or heard of his book until almost seven years after the publication of the first Potter book.
The publisher said: "Willy the Wizard is a very insubstantial booklet running to 36 pages which had very limited distribution.
"The central character of Willy the Wizard is not a young wizard and the book does not revolve around a wizard school."
The plagiarism claim was first made in 2004 by solicitors acting on behalf of Jacobs' son.
Bloomsbury Publishing hit back after the estate of Adrian Jacobs, a children's writer who died "penniless" in 1997, launched a legal action over alleged copyright infringement.
The company said in a statement the allegatations of plagiarism were "unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue".
It added: "This claim is without merit and will be defended vigorously."
Jacobs' estate claimed Rowling copied "substantial parts" of The Adventures Of Willy The Wizard - No 1 Livid Land, which Jacobs wrote in 1987, when she penned Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.
Elements of the plot were also plagiarised, including a wizard contest, and the idea of wizards travelling on trains was borrowed, according to the allegations.
"Both Willy and Harry are required to work out the exact nature of the main task of the contest which they both achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers, in order to discover how to rescue human hostages imprisoned by a community of half-human, half-animal fantasy creatures," the estate's statement said.
"It is alleged that all of these are concepts first created by Adrian Jacobs in Willy the Wizard, some ten years before JK Rowling first published any of the Harry Potter novels and 13 years before Goblet Of Fire was published."
But Bloomsbury insisted Rowling had never heard of Adrian Jacobs nor seen, read or heard of his book until almost seven years after the publication of the first Potter book.
The publisher said: "Willy the Wizard is a very insubstantial booklet running to 36 pages which had very limited distribution.
"The central character of Willy the Wizard is not a young wizard and the book does not revolve around a wizard school."
The plagiarism claim was first made in 2004 by solicitors acting on behalf of Jacobs' son.