Potter ‘Lexicon’ editor persists

A “Harry Potter” fan and website operator said Friday he’s going ahead with publishing an encyclopedia after losing a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by the author of the massively popular book series.

Steven Vander Ark said during a news conference at a bookstore in North Muskegon, Mich., that Muskegon-based RDR Books will publish “The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials” on Jan. 12. Author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros., maker of the Harry Potter films and owner of intellectual property rights to the Potter books and movies, sued RDR Books in 2007 to stop the publication of a similar volume by Vander Ark. A federal judge in New York ruled in favor of Rowling in September, permanently blocking publication of that reference guide.

Vander Ark, a former school librarian who started the Harry Potter Lexicon Website in 2000, and his publisher said the revised version meets specifications for such a book laid out in the judge’s ruling. The new work contains much more critical commentary, they said.