Rowling fights US army over Harry Potter

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Sunday Times
Toby McDonald and Karin Goodwin



LAWYERS acting for J K Rowling are heading for a legal battle with the US army over a training manual that features characters similar to those in the Harry Potter books and films.

They are examining whether the publication, which has been distributed to soldiers at US army bases around the world, breaches copyright rules. Harry Potter¡¯s intellectual property is owned by the author and the images are owned by the film company Warner Bros.

The magazine, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly, includes a cartoon character called Topper, a boy wizard, who attends Mogmarts school of magic. Harry Potter, Rowling¡¯s boy wizard creation, attends the Hogwarts school of magic.

In the magazine, army officials are given a lesson from Professor Rumbledoore and his staff, a name strikingly similar to Rowling¡¯s Professor Dumbledore. Other characters in the magazine include professors McDonagal and Snappy, and a Miss Ranger. The Harry Potter books feature professors McGonagall and Snape and Hermione Granger.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1472447,00.html