"It gives me no pleasure to take legal action, but I am here today because I feel very strongly about an important issue..." Harry Potter author exclaimed in a statement recently...

J.K. Rowling testified before a packed courtroom in a lawsuit to block publication of a Harry Potter lexicon, telling a judge the book amounts to a "wholesale theft" of 17 years of her work." We all know I've made enough money. That's absolutely not why I'm here,'' Rowling told the U.S. District Court judge in New York.

The British author and Warner Bros. sued Michigan-based RDR Books last year to stop publication of Steven Vander Ark's "Harry Potter Lexicon,'' claiming copyright infringement. Vander Ark runs the popular Harry Potter Lexicon website, and RDR wants to publish a print version of the site and charge $24.95.

Rowling claims the book is nothing more than a rearrangement of her own material and told the judge it copied so much of her work that it amounted to plagiarism. Rowling recently released the following statement:

"It gives me no pleasure to take legal action, but I am here today because I feel very strongly about an important issue that affects everyone and not just me. If books that plagiarise other works are permitted, authors, fans and readers stand to lose. There are lots of books in many languages that comment on or criticize Harry Potter, and that's fine. But the book in this case is different. It provides no analysis and virtually no commentary. It takes far too much and it offers precious little in return. I would just like to add that I am extremely grateful for the incredible support of Harry Potter fans everywhere."

NEW YORK, April 16 /CNW/ -- "The book at the heart of this case has overstepped a boundary so unreasonably that I have been forced, regretfully, to take legal action. Authors have a right to protect their works from misuse.  Do I have fewer rights because many people read my books?  If this book is published, it will open the floodgates for anyone to lift an author's work and present it as their own.  But if it is not published, that will be a boon not only to all who create original works, but to all who enjoy those works."