Legal Briefs American Author Nancy K. Stouffer Is Suing J.k. Rowling, The Scottish Writer Of The Harry Potter Books, And The Books' Publishers, Claiming That Plots And Characters In The Wildly Popular Children's Series Originated From Her.

Three books about Harry Potter, a young orphaned wizard, have sold 19 million copies in the United States, and a fourth is due for release in July. A movie based on the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," is in the works.

But Stouffer, of Camp Hill, Pa., argues in her federal lawsuit that ideas for the Potter series were lifted from her 1984 book "The Legend of Rah and Muggles," which includes a character named Larry Potter.

In Stouffer's book, muggles are little people who care for two orphaned boys who magically turn their dark homeland into a happy place. In Rowling's books, "muggles" is the word wizards use for humans.

Stouffer's book has a character named Lilly Potter; Rowling's books have a Lily Potter. The Stouffer book has characters identified as "Keepers of the Gardens"; Rowling's books have a "Keeper of the Keys."

Stouffer filed the lawsuit March 6 in U.S. District Court against Rowling and Scholastic Inc., the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter books. Her lawsuit also names Time Warner Entertainment Co., which owns the film rights to two of Rowling's Potter books, and Mattel and Hasbro, which have licenses to create and market related merchandise.

Scholastic, Rowling and Time Warner filed their own lawsuit in November in New York, asking a judge to rule that the Harry Potter books do not violate Stouffer's trademark and copyright. That suit was filed after attempts by Stouffer to negotiate an out-of-court settlement apparently failed.

Stouffer's claims are "completely meritless," said Judy Corman, a spokeswoman for Scholastic.



No criminal charges will be filed against a California high school teacher arrested in class for showing students the R-rated, Oscar-nominated film "American Beauty."

Mary Louise Peterson was arrested March 6 in Santa Paula for investigation of trespassing because she refused to leave her classroom after being placed on administrative leave.

"Both the Santa Paula School District administrators and the Santa Paula Police Department bent over backward to avoid an arrest," Assistant District Attorney Greg Totten said Wednesday.

Peterson's placement on administrative leave and her arrest stemmed from insubordination and disruptive behavior in the classroom, not specifically from showing "American Beauty," the prosecutor said. The film includes nudity, foul language and scenes with masturbation, drug use and violence.



Exhibition executive Charles Goldwater is suing Iwerks Entertainment, the high-tech entertainment company of which he became president and