Harry situation: Latest Harry Potter book sold by accident

July 12, 2005

Latest Harry Potter book sold by accident
By Rhys Blakely, Times Online

Lawyers have conjured up a court order to stop details from the next Harry Potter book being revealed ahead of its official release, after several copies were sold by accident in Canada ahead of this Saturday's official publication date. Raincoast Books, which is distributing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in Canada, was granted a Draconian "John Doe injunction" by the British Columbia Supreme Court, preventing the buyers from revealing aspects of the novel’s plot.

Such information could prove valuable ahead of the book's release. Online bookmakers have been taking bets on just which leading character will perish in the sixth installment of JK Rowling's hugely successful series.

Police were reportedly involved in investigating suspicious betting patterns, which publishers feared suggested complex security measures had been breached