JK Rowling fails to halt Harry Potter ‘theft’ case

Harry Potter author J K Rowling today failed to block a High Court claim that she stole the idea for one of her books from a story called Willy the Wizard.

But Mr Justice Kitchen said it was "improbable" that the case against her would succeed. The 44-year-old multi-millionairess is accused of infringing the copyright on a novella by the late author Adrian Jacobs.

Rowling says any similarities to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire were created only by chance, and that she had never heard of Mr Jacobs or Willy the Wizard.

Willy the Wizard was published in 1987 and Mr jacobs died in 1997.

Rowlong and her publisher Bloomsbury asked the judge to dismiss the "hopeless" action as it had no chance of success.

The judge refused, but added: "I have reached the conclusion that this claim may succeed but that it is improbable it will do so." He said that while both Harry and Willy were wizards competing in a wizard contest the characters and contests were different.

He ordered that Paul Allen, the Jacobs estate's trustee, pay money into court as security for the costs of the case if it goes to trial.