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Chinese conmen serve up fake Harry Potter and the Chinese Empire

Thanks to a gang of Chinese conmen, there is now an eight Harry Potter novel in the market.

London, Aug 20 : Thanks to a gang of Chinese conmen, there is now an eight Harry Potter novel in the market.

But understandably, author JK Rowling is none too pleased, and is determined to crack down on the offenders.

For the equivalent of just 1 pound, residents of Shanghai can pick up their very own copy of the eight book - Harry Potter and the Chinese Empire.

Rowling now has her team of legal eagles swooping down on the offenders, and has been planning cases in local courts and talking to the national authorities to have the bogus books taken off the streets.

Neil Blair, Rowling's legal adviser, said that action was being taken to prevent violation of the copyright.

"We are aware of this one and we are taking action both through the local courts and by negotiating with the authorities in China to prevent violation of copyright. We are very pleased with the co-operation we are receiving from the authorities there," the Scotsman quoted him, as saying.

The 'Chinese Empire' is a blend of bits of martial arts epics, extracts from other fantasy works such as JRR Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, and random characters from Chinese literature that appear alongside the Hogwarts characters.

Mark Lambert, the chief executive officer of the Scottish Book Trust, said: "It's not actually an issue of money, in this case, but it's an issue of intellectual copyright and theft of the idea and using JK Rowling's name in this way. And she is right to be concerned about this and to be taking action.

"This kind of thing, unauthorised sequels, has been happening before now. For example Star Trek fans write their own episodes online, as a tribute to the series. But this is very different, these volumes are being sold on the streets in order to profit from the name."

ANI