Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has won her long-running battle with a fan who planned to publish an unauthorized guide to her wizard franchise.

Rowling began legal proceedings against writer Steve Vander Ark and publisher RDR Books last year after learning of their plans to release The Harry Potter Lexicon. On Monday, Patterson told the court that RDR “failed to establish an affirmative defense of fair use”.

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WENN

Oprah Winfrey has still got it, according to Forbes Magazine, which on Wednesday released its Celebrity 100 List, ranking the most powerful names in Hollywood.

Based on earnings and fame, Winfrey came in at Number 1, earning $275 million before taxes over the last 12 months. She was followed by Tiger Woods at number 2 with $115 million and Angelina Jolie who earned a reported $14 million and enjoyed unrivaled levels of fame.

Rounding out the top 10 was Jolie’s boyfriend Brad Pitt, who last year banked $20 million.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was the year’s top earner, making $300 million with the help of her last installment of the Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

To see who else made the top 10 see below!

1. Oprah Winfrey

2. Tiger Woods

3. Angelina Jolie

4. Beyonce Knowles

5. David Beckham

6. Johnny Depp

7. Jay-Z

8. The Police

9. J.K. Rowling

10. Brad Pitt

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J.K. Rowling told a court on Monday that a fan’s plans to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia “constitutes wholesale theft” of her 17 years of hard work.

She sued RDR Books in 2007 to prevent the publication of Steven Vander Ark’s Harry Potter Lexicon, citing copyright infringement. So far, she has managed to stall its publication, which was due out in November of last year.

Yesterday, she told the judge, “I think it’s atrocious. I think it’s sloppy. I think there’s very little research. This book constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work. We all know I’ve made enough money. That’s absolutely not why I’m here.”

Her attorney asked her what the series of Harry Potter books mean to her and she fought back tears. She replied, “I really don’t want to cry. These characters continue to mean so much to me over a long period of time. The closest you could come is to say, ‘How do you feel about your children?’ These books, they saved me.”

Rowling recently revealed she plans to write her own Harry Potter encyclopedia.

I hope she wins, that guy has no right to do that. It’s her work and that’s that.

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WENN

Though she has made no secret of how her life had sunk before her immense success with the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling has never before detailed that despondent period of her life.

That now has changed, with the author, 42, opening up to an Edinburgh University student magazine, the BBC and British newspapers report.

Rowling also admits that she contemplated taking her own life back in the early 1990s, after separating from her first husband, Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes.

“We’re talking suicidal thoughts here, we’re not talking ‘I’m a little bit miserable,’ ” Rowling told student Adeel Amini, 22.

“Mid-twenties life circumstances were poor and I really plummeted,” Rowling said, recalling friends had to help her pay the security deposit for her apartment rental – where she would eventually begin writing about the boy wizard, which would spawn a $14 billion industry.

“The thing that made me go for help was probably my daughter,” said Rowling, referring to the then-infant, Jessica, reports the Telegraph. “She was something that earthed me, grounded me, and I thought, this isn’t right, this can’t be right, she cannot grow up with me in this state.”

‘Get Out’ of Depression
Through a circuitous route – her regular doctor was away at the time of her crisis – Rowling eventually met with a therapist, who helped her “get out” of the depression.

“The funny thing is, I have never been remotely ashamed of having been depressed. Never,” she says. “I think I’m abnormally shameless on that account because what’s to be ashamed of?”

Seeking to remove any stigma that might be attached to seeking counseling, Rowing now advises all those suffering from depression to “go and get help.”

From Best Week Ever:

By now we all know that JK Rowling shocked the wizarding world last weekend by outing beloved grandfatherly wizard Albus Dumbledore as being gay. BWE.tv has leared exclusively, through our shadowy network of wizard tabloid operatives, that Rowling made the announcement only to pre-empt the shocking expose in this week’s People Magazine based on magical gossipmongering blogger Rita Skeeter’s sordid allegations about the wizard’s sexuality. Here’s an exclusive preview of the magazine.

It was a little late for National Coming Out Day, but a huge revelation nonetheless: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed Friday night that one of her main characters, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is gay.

The Associated Press reports that during a Q&A session with audience members, a young fan asked if Dumbledore finds true love.

“Dumbledore is gay,” the author, 42, responded, prompting gasps and applause.

Rowling said Dumbledore was infatuated with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who was later offed in a battle between the good and bad wizards.

“Falling in love can blind us to an extent,” Rowling said of Dumbledore’s feelings, adding that Dumbledore was “horribly, terribly let down” and that his love was a “great tragedy.”

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