Posted by Robert R. Cobb on March 16, 2001 at 06:54:03:
COINCIDENCE, CONFIDENCE, RIP-OFF, PLAIGERISM, COPYRIGHT
? ? ? ? ?
(Timed to coincide with the release of the Harry Potter
movie, ostensibly adapted from the pen of J.K.Rowling.)
This from this March 15, "Daily Herald" for Rolling Meadows,
Illinois. (accompanied with a cover illustration, which I won't attach,
of a bespectacled cartoon character, "Larry Potter," who
very closely resembles the much more familiar, "Harry Potter" of
J.K. Rowling's fame.)
NEW YORK--Harry Potter fans look out: Some new Muggles are coming to
town. Or are they old ones? "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles," whoe
author is suing J.K.Rowling for stealing her ideas, will be reissued by
Thurman House in May, the publisher said Wednesday. The book was first
published in 1984, long before the Potter series began. Author Nancy
Stouffer said she had a hard time finding a new publisher because some
feared her book would be seen as rip offs. "Some believe I am the one
that
followed J.K.Rowling," she said. In "Rah and the Muggles," which includes
a character named Larry Potter, muggles are little people who care for
two orphaned boys who magically turn their dark homeland into a happy
place. In Rowling's books, "muggles" is the word wizards use for humans.
Question: Will Nancy Stouffer win her law suit?
It will be an interesting case. I wonder what defense attorneys for
J.K.Rowling's side can possibly do to refute Nancy Stouffer's
claims of theft.
Robert R. Cobb