Rowling hit with plagiarism lawsuit

JK Rowling has been named in a lawsuit alleging she stole ideas for books.

Sydney: JK Rowling has been named in a lawsuit alleging she stole ideas for her wildly popular and lucrative "Harry Potter" books from another British author. The estate of the late Adrian Jacobs on Wednesday added Rowling as a defendant in a lawsuit it filed in June against Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for alleged copyright infringement, according to a statement released by the estate`s representatives, who are based in Australia.

The lawsuit, filed in a London court, claims Rowling`s book `Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire` copied substantial parts of Jacobs` 1987 book, `The Adventures of Willy the Wizard No 1 Livid Land". " Jacobs` estate also claims that many other ideas from `Willy the Wizard`" were copied into the `Harry Potter` books. Jacobs died in London in 1997. `Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire` is the fourth book in Rowling`s series and was published in July 2000. Sydney agent Max Markson, who is representing the trustee of Jacobs` estate, Paul Allen, said Rowling was added to the lawsuit after Allen learned that the statute of limitations to sue her had not run out, as previously thought. "I estimate it`s a billion-dollar case," Markson said Thursday. "That`ll be the decision of the courts, obviously. " There was no immediate comment from Rowling. In June, Bloomsbury said the allegation that Rowling lifted from Jacobs` work was "unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue. " Bloomsbury said Jacobs` estate first approached the company in 2004 with its claims, but was unable to identify any text in the `Harry Potter` books that was copied from `Willy the Wizard.` In a statement, Allen said the estate is also seeking legal advice on whether the Harry Potter films and soon-to-be-opened Harry Potter theme park breach copyright law. Bureau Report