Crime | JK Rowling Rowling Wins Copyright Case Judge rules publishing Potter encyclopedia would cause creator 'irreparable harm' By Nick McMaster Posted Sep 8, 2008 3:03 PM CDT Copied Harry Potter fans show the newly published Japanese edition of the last Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling at a Tokyo book store, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) A fan-written "Harry Potter lexicon" will not be published, a federal judge in New York ruled today, finding for author JK Rowling that the reference guide was an infringement of copyright. The ruling held that the book would cause Rowling irreparable harm as a writer, the BBC reports. The Potter creator had characterized the unpublished work as “wholesale theft.” The judge ruled that the book exceeded the guidelines of "fair use" and said it "appropriates too much of Rowling's creative work for its purposes as a reference guide," the AP reports. Rowling had previously said that she was planning to write her own Harry Potter encyclopedia and donate the proceeds to charity, but now says she thinks the ordeal may have sapped her of the “will or the heart” to do so. Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. Musk says his new party is in business. Kerr County considered a flood warning system years ago. Cancer claims the life of an MLB champ at 44. Report an error