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June 9, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 3:42pm

Blanket press injunction aims to keep Harry Potter’s secret

By Press Gazette

By Dominic Ponsford
Attempts to sell copies of the new Harry Potter book to journalists
have led author JK Rowling to issue a wide-ranging injunction to
protect the book’s secrecy.
Last Friday, Sun reporter John Askell was shot at trying to take a copy
of the book which had been offered to him for £50,000.
Two men have since been arrested on police bail following the incident
in Kettering, Northants.
Now Rowling has issued un unusual “John Doe” injunction to ensure the
plot of her book remains a secret until its official publication date
of July 16.
David Hooper, from law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said: “This
far-reaching injunction applies to anyone who has, or has had,
possession of all or part of the book without the consent of Bloomsbury
Publishing and JK Rowling.
“This type of injunction is known as a John
Doe order because those to whom it applies are not named. It doesn’t
just apply to the two named people who were attempting to sell copies
of the book. It catches anyone who is in unauthorised possession of
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
“This injunction is much wider
in scope than the John Doe order obtained for the previous Harry Potter
book.”
According to Hooper, the order also stops anyone who may come
into possession of all or part of the book from disclosing it or any
information in it to any third party and requires immediate delivery up
of the book or any copies of it to the publisher. He said that anyone
with notice of the order is liable to be imprisoned or be fined for
contempt of court if they breach its terms.

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