For seven years, a “Harry Potter” fanatic worked on a guidebook to J. K. Rowling’s best-selling series, but in the end, his book was too close to the work he admired.

For seven years, a “Harry Potter” fanatic worked on a guidebook to J. K. Rowling’s best-selling series, but in the end, his book was too close to the work he admired.

J.K. Rowling has won her claim that a fan violated her copyright with his plans to publish a Potter encyclopedia.

The final Harry Potter installment gave a much-needed jolt to the publishing industry last July, but publishers still struggled to sell more books overall than they did in 2006.