'Harry Potter' court case gets weepy

NEW YORK (AP) -- A Harry Potter fan who sought to publish an encyclopedic guide to the wildly popular fantasy novels broke down and cried on the witness stand Tuesday as he faced off in court against his idol J.K. Rowling.

The British author sued Steven Vander Ark's publisher RDR Books last year, claiming that their "Harry Potter Lexicon" -- based on Vander Ark's fan Web site -- infringed on her copyright.

Vander Ark, 50, wiped away tears when he was asked to reflect on what the case has done to his relationship with the community of Harry Potter fans.

The former middle school librarian, who fell in love with the books in the late '90s and has devoted years to studying them and indexing their content online, could barely speak.

"It's been ... it's been," he stammered, choking on his words. "It's been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention. ... This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so."

Vander Ark testified on the second day of a trial pitting RDR Books against Rowling and Warner Brothers, the maker of the Harry Potter films. Watch a report on why Rowling is suing »

Rowling and the media company are trying to prevent publication of the "Harry Potter Lexicon," which Vander Ark and Michigan-based RDR had sought to publish last fall.

Its release was delayed pending the outcome of the suit; Rowling has argued that the book borrows too heavily from her novels.

During his testimony Tuesday, Vander Ark acknowledged that he, too, had substantial concerns all along about whether publishing an encyclopedia based on Rowling's Potter universe would constitute copyright infringement.

He said he was talked into doing it by the publishing company.

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