Is Potter just plagiarism?...

'Harry Potter' publishers Bloomsbury could face legal action over claims that J.K. Rowling stole her ideas for the best-selling series. Earlier this week, the estate of Adrian Jacobs, extended its claim, originally filed against Bloomsbury, to include the author herself. A spokesperson for the estate said, 'we believe that she personally plagiarised the Willy the Wizard book...all of Willy the Wizard is in "The Goblet of Fire"...we now have a case which is not just against Bloomsbury.'

Claims surround an episode in the Rowling novel, in which Harry is required to solve a task as part of a contest, which he achieves in a bathroom by the aid of clues. A similar episode is to be found in Jacob's 36-page work. Rowling challenged the suit, saying, 'I am saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry. The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book'.

On this day...

Jack London, American novelist, was born in 1876. Born to a astrologist father, whose story could easily fill its own novel, and a mother who believed she could channel the spirit of an Indian chief, London's early life and adolescence was plagued with inconsistency, and indeed he landed in jail for a month on account of vagrancy. The next few years contained many experiences which would find their way into his later writings. Living as, alternatly, a hobo, sailor and goldminer, London contracted scurvy and was left with several disfigurements as well as a socialist sympathy. Thought to be one of the first American authors to have a profitable career solely from writing payments, London's real breakthrough into the literary market came with 'The Call of the Wild', for which the publishers paid him three cents per word. A century on, the adventure thriller, along with fellow adventure novel 'The Sea Wolf', remained highly popular novels, both inspiring numerous adaptations on both sides of the Atalntic. London endured several accusations of plagiarism during his lifetime, many of which appeared legitimate complaints. He died prematurely in 1916 at the age of 40.

Shakespeare the plagiarist?...

Former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, has been accused of plagiarising another author's work for his latest poem. 'An Equal Voice', was published in The Guardian newspaper on the eve of Rememberance Sunday as a tribute to war veterans; Motion describing it as 'stitching together the voices of shell-shocked people'. Yet Ben Shephard, author of 'The War of Nerves', claims Motion has in fact 'stitched together 17 passages from his book'; 'of the 152 lines...all but 16 are taken from 'A War of Nerves'...there's a word for this...it begins with 'p' and it isn't poetry.' Motion has hit back, maintaining there is a long tradition of 'found poetry'. He uses the example of Shakespeare's play 'Anthony and Cleopatra', which borrows large passages from Sir Thomas North's 'Life of Mark Anthony'. The dispute is likely to run on for some time.