Harry Potter case: Rowling advised to settle out of court

HARRY Potter author JK Rowling and a publisher she accuses of stealing her copyright were advised to settle the dispute out of court by a judge today.

Judge Robert Patterson said the case was a legal close call, involving unresolved areas of American law, and was almost certain to end in years of appeals.

"I think this case, with imagination, could be settled," he said on the third day of the trial in Manhattan federal court.

Lawyers for Rowling and Warner Brothers, which holds intellectual property rights to the Potter books and films, claim RDR Books have produced an unauthorised guide to Harry's world.

RDR's lawyer said she still planned to call Rowling to the stand for a second time later in the trial.

It has so far featured two days of emotional testimony, first by Rowling, then by the fan who wrote the guide, former school librarian Steven Vander Ark.

The guide is mostly a print version of portions of an expansive website created by 50-year-old Vander Ark. Assembled in just a month, it is organised like an encyclopaedia and includes lists of characters, creatures, places and spells from the novels.