Rowling sues over Potter encyclopedia

J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros have revealed plans to sue an independent US publisher for releasing a Harry Potter companion, which they claim infringes copyright.

RDR Books plans to release The Harry Potter Lexicon by Steve Vander Ark on November 28 in the US.

The publisher has told Reuters that the book is based around a fansite which has 25 million readers and is approved of by Rowling.

However, Rowling has now claimed that she would prefer to write the definitive Potter companion herself, so that she can raise cash for charity.

She said: "The definitive Harry Potter encyclopedia...will include all the material that never made it into the novels.

"I cannot, therefore, approve of 'companion books' or 'encyclopedias' that seek to pre-empt my definitive Potter reference book for their authors' own personal gain.

"The losers in such a situation would be the charities that I hope, eventually, to benefit."