Rowling is fighting against a federal copyright lawsuit in New York claiming her four Harry Potter books infringed on the work of Nancy Stouffer, a Pennsylvania woman who wrote about a boy named "Larry Potter" in the 1980s. Stouffer says Rowling lifted character names, including the "muggles", from hers.
Author J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter sold more than 67 million copies of books, being accused says she's no plagiarist as the boy wizard is "entirely the fruit of my own imagination”. Rowling said, “I am deeply offended that my integrity and good character have been suspected by the ludicrous allegations that I stole any part" of the books.
Rowling claims she had not read Stouffer's work before completing her 1995 manuscript, in which people without magical power were also called muggles. Muggles "derived from the English word 'mug', meaning someone who is easily fooled or gullible", Rowling said. "I softened the word slightly to make it seem more affectionate."
Her lawyers say Stouffer's book was really titled Rah, and that and the Muggles wasn't added until the 1990s, one example of alleged fabrication cited by Rowling.
Rowling's books tell the story of Harry Potter, who at age 11 discovers he is a wizard and accepts an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he does battle with the evil Lord Voldemort. The books are credited with attracting legions of new readers.