Author J.K. Rowling, who went from rags to riches on her books and later films about boy wizard Harry Potter, is facing yet another challenge to the authenticity of her works by a dead English author whose estate is suing her U.S. publisher.
The estate of the late UK author Adrian Jacobs held a news conference in New York City today (July 14) to announce the filing of a copyright infringement lawsuit against Rowling’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc.
The Estate maintains that Jacobs’ agent was Christopher Little, the same literary agent who years later “discovered” Rowling. Little now oversees the Harry Potter brand worldwide.
Jacobs, who died in 1997, was a financial consultant and UK lawyer who worked on taking companies public and amassed a sizeable fortune estimated to be near $10 million.
In addition to being a collector, he penned a book series based on a character called “Willy the Wizard” in 1987, which has some remarkable parallels with Rowling’s Potter series.
The lawsuit claims that Rowling copied a substantial part of Jacobs’ 1987 book “The Adventures of Willy The Wizard No 1 Livid Land” while writing her book “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire,” which was published 13 years later by Scholastic.
Both books tell the tale of a wizard who discovers his true nature as a boy. Later, he partakes in an International Wizards Contest.
In each book, the Wizard can only discover his central task in a special bathroom: to rescue hostages, from half-human creatures, acting as contest agents, to earn points and win the contest.
Jacobs’ book also includes a fantasy world and real world in which there are wizard schools, wizard brewing villages, wizard chess, wizard trains, wizard hospitals, wizard travel by magic powder, elves and international wizard gatherings.
All of these Jacobs’ concepts are echoed in Harry Potter, Jacobs’ estate said in a statement.
“We have a strong case. The USA being the world’s largest market for Potter books means that our first overseas action is brought here in America.” said Trustee Paul Allen.
“Jacobs’ work deserves recognition,” said Allen.
The Estate’s filed a similar complaint last year with High Court of England against publishers Bloomsbury Plc, publisher of the Potter series there.
Harry Potter’s money-making magic has generated a collective fortune of more than £600 million, which translates to nearly $1 billion for its author and stars, according to London’s Sunday Times.
Rowling has amassed a personal wealth of £519 million from her wizard stories, making her the world’s wealthiest author according to the Times’ Rich List.
Daniel Radcliffe, 20, who starred as Harry in the film adaptations, was ranked the fifth wealthiest young Briton after clocking up a fortune of £42 million.
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