J.K. Rowling and the world of Harry Potter are usually associated with magic, wizards and Quidditch. However, Rowling and her wizards are now intertwined in legal issues and lawsuits.

On Oct. 31, 2007, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, and the Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. sued RDR Books for its attempt to publish a 400-page Harry Potter Lexicon. The Lexicon, an encyclopedia on the magical world of Harry Potter, was written by Steve Vander Ark, a school librarian and Harry Potter zealot. For the past seven years, Vander Ark has been running a Harry Potter Lexicon website that has approximately 25 million visitors a year.

Rowling has stated that she plans to write her own Harry Potter encyclopedia, with the proceeds going to charity, and said that the publication of a similar book would hurt her sales. Additionally, the Lexicon would publish excerpts from the Harry Potter novels and screenshots from the films, which would violate several copyright laws. Vander Ark, however, claims that he received permission from both Rowling’s representatives and the Warner Bros.’ representatives to use the copyrighted material.

The Lexicon and Vander Ark have enlisted the help of intellectual property lawyers from Stanford Law School to defend RDR Books' rights to publish the Lexicon. The Lexicon’s argument is that its publication is protected by U.S. law, which gives people “the right to create reference guides that discuss literary works, comment on them and make them more accessible.”

In January, Rowling and Warner Brothers filed a 1,100-page complaint against RDR Books, stating that Vander Ark “compiles and repackages Ms. Rowling’s fictional facts derived wholesale from the Harry Potter works without adding any new creativity, insight, or criticism. Defendant’s attempt to cloak the Infringing Book in the mantle of scholarship is merely a ruse designed to circumvent Plaintiffs’ rights in order to make a quick buck.”

In response, Vander Ark and his lawyers claimed that Rowling and Warner Brothers are acting as a monopoly.

The trial was held on April 14. Rowling restated her claim that Vander Ark's Lexicon contained “limited commentary” and “merely recycled her writing.” Additionally, Rowling accused the Lexicon of containing little new information, and said it was a “wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work.”

After three days of proceedings, the two sides reached a limited settlement involving the use of any Rowling endorsements on the book and that if published, neither her name nor her previous endorsements could be used to promote the Lexicon. However, no other decisions have been made to settle the trial and the judge is not expected to reach a decision for several weeks. The case will most likely be appealed and there is a possibility of it going to the Supreme Court.