Will the Real Potter Please Stand Up?

N E W  Y O R K,  March 20, 2001 -- Harry Potter books continue to fly off store shelves like magic broomsticks, but at least one reader claims J.K. Rowling's popular stories are not very original.

American author Nancy Stouffer says the similarities between Rowling's popular books and her own are too striking to be mere coincidence.

In 1984, Stouffer released a book called The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, in which some characters, names and descriptions are nearly identical to those appearing in Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and its three sequels.

Potter, Larry Potter

The main character in Stouffer's book is Larry Potter. He wears oversized glasses and has wavy black hair, just like Harry Potter. And many of the characters in Stouffer's and Rowling's books share the same names.

Stouffer says Rowling must have known about The Legend of the Rah and the Muggles before her first Potter book was published in 1997. Rowling's Harry Potter books have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide.

Rowling says she never knew such a book existed. Stouffer's book has been out of print, and Rowling says she never had access to it.

The similarities have led to a legal battle between Stouffer and Rowling's U.S. publishers. Negotiations broke down last year, and Scholastic, together with film and publishing giant Time Warner (which owns the film rights to the Harry Potter books), have asked a judge to rule that they are not violating Stouffer's trademark and copyright.

Battle of the Books

Stouffer says she contacted Rowling's publisher as soon as she heard about the similarities between the books.

Stouffer filed for breach of copyright and trademark infringement in Pennsylvania, where she lives. That suit was later dropped in favor of a New York trial on all issues, and that is when Rowling's publisher took legal action of its own.

"They filed suit against me in the middle of talks to try to usurp my copyright and trademark rights," Stouffer told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.

"I'm actually the defendant in this action," she said. "That's probably the biggest misunderstanding with the general public."

That's My Muggle

At issue in the suit are the startling similarities between the names of some of Stouffer's characters in books published in the 1980s, and the phenomenally successful Potter books.

Both books have characters known as Muggles. They are non-wizards in the Rowling books, but in Stouffer's book they use magic to transform their dark homeland into a happy place.

There is also a character called Lilly Potter in both books. In Rowling's books, Lily, with one L, is Harry's mother. In Stouffer's, Lilly is Larry's cousin.

Stouffer says her rights to her characters, especially "Muggles," have been hijacked and superceded — crushed by the weight of promotion of the Harry Potter characters, which invalidated her own characters, even though her work predates Rowling's by 10 years or more.

Stouffer says she has received obscene e-mail and even threats from outraged Harry Potter fans who think she copied Rowling.

A small publishing house plans to reprint Stouffer's books, making the Harry Potter stories and the Larry Potter stories available in stores for the first time.

The first Harry Potter movie is scheduled for release on Nov. 16.

Stouffer says she has no plans to back down in the case with Time Warner and Scholastic.

"I will pursue it," she says. "I will fight it to the end."