Proposed Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law Submitted in Harry Potter Lexicon Case

New York - Attorneys defending RDR Books and the Harry Potter Lexicon submitted their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to New York Federal District Court Judge Robert Patterson Jr. on May 9. Judge Patterson heard the lawsuit brought by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment in a three day trial ending April 16. He will now rule whether or not the Muskegon, Michigan publisher can publish author Steve Vander Ark's 400 page reference book based on a popular seven year-old fan website that reaches more than 25 million people annually. At the New York trial RDR attorneys David Hammer, Lizbeth Hasse, Anthony Falzone and Julie Ahrens argued that the Lexicon, with a projected first printing of just 10,000 copies, would not harm a similar work planned by Rowling who has sold over 300 million copies of her Harry Potter novels worldwide. "We do not think we are a threat to J.K. Rowling," said RDR Books publisher Roger Rapoport. The Right to Write Fund, an activity of the Center for Ethics in Action, a public nonprofit 501C3, is supporting defendant RDR Books. The Stanford University Law School Fair Use Project is also defending the right to publish the Lexicon.

Contact Information:

Lizbeth Hasse Creative Industry Law Group, San Francisco (415) 433-4380, 415 350-4345 (9-5 PST) lhasse@creativelawgroup.com

Anne Zill, Right to Write Fund/Center for Ethics in Action 207-221-4499, 207 232-6365
www.righttowrite.org (9-5 EST)

Roger Rapoport, RDR Books (510) 595-0595 (9-5 EST) www.rdrbooks.com