Being a fan of the seven-series Harry Potter book, it is a big shock to know that the best-selling fiction novel is allegedly copied by its author from another British novelist.

This is according to a report made by the Associated Press on February 18, which was co-published by Sun.Star Network Exchange. It said that J.K. Rowling is being sued for plagiarism (to read more click on the phrase).

Rowling holding one of her famous Harry Potter book series

Photo taken from tutor2u.net

Is it just a work of propaganda by Rowling’s competitors and oppositions? Or did Rowling really stole the idea from an old author?

The article stated: “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.”

It further stated that a prior copyright infringement case was filed in 2004 but the complainant wasn’t able to give specific proof asked by the court, resulting to its dismissal. Yet a decade after, the controversy heats up once again, just in time for the last installation of the Harry Potter series by Warner Bros. in the big screen.

Plagiarism exist even in the realm of journalism. According to Roy Peter Clark of Poynter’s Online, “The journalism world is cratered with plagiarism cases.” Clark has been tracking down cases on plagiarism and his first was that of a 1983 Washington Journalism Review article titled “The Unoriginal Sin.”

The word plagiarism means “kidnap,” and each word-snatch has its own peculiar characteristics. But some patterns repeat themselves time and again, Clark said in his article (see Poynter Online’s The Global War on Plagiarism: Fighting the Pirates of the Press to read the entire entry).

In a report from Reuters, a wired news company, Rowling called on Thursday (February 18) for a plagiarism case against her to be dismissed, describing it as “unfounded” and “absurd”.

“I am saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry,” Rowling, 44, said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.

The sad thing about this controversy though is that not only does Rowling get sued but also the publishing company that published Rowling’s books and the Warner Bros. company for both films and the island-big Hogwarts amusement park.

Harry Potter books and movies have earned great popularity and billions of dollars worth worldwide, according to Reuters.

For Potter’s fans, brace yourself because if the complainant wins the case then it will be the worst days for Harry and the Wizardry world–and the Hogwarts amusement park might not push through on its opening this July!