Potter fan weeps in copyright battle

A Harry Potter fan in the US who sought to publish an encyclopaedic guide to the novels broke down and cried on the witness stand tonight as he faced his idol JK Rowling in court.

The British author sued Steven Vander Ark and publisher RDR Books last year, claiming that their Harry Potter Lexicon – based on Mr Vander Ark’s fan website - infringed on her copyright.

Mr Vander Ark wiped away tears when he was asked to reflect on what the case, taking place in New York, has done to his relationship with the community of Harry Potter fans.

The former school librarian, who fell in love with the books in the late 90s and has devoted years to studying them and indexing their content online, could barely speak.

“It’s been ... it’s been,” he stammered, choking on his words. “It’s been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention.”

“This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so,” he added.

Mr Vander Ark testified on the second day of a trial pitting his publishing company, RDR Books, against Rowling and Warner Brothers, the maker of the Harry Potter films.

They are trying to prevent publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon, which Mr Vander Ark and Michigan-based RDR had sought to publish last year.

Its release was delayed pending the outcome of the suit.