From CTV.ca

Publisher fights leak of new Harry Potter book Harry Potter’s latest secret may have already slipped out in Vancouver, but publishers of the best-selling books hope the magical allure of author J.K. Rowling’s autograph will get it back under wraps. Rowling’s sixth novel about the young wizard is not scheduled to be released until Saturday, but a Vancouver grocery store accidentally sold 14 copies of the book last week.

Raincoast Books Ltd., which distributes the books in Canada, said a “small number” of the books were sold. Raincoast won a court injunction banning the buyers of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from disclosing the plot. The court also ordered all copies to be returned to Raincoast. “Please contact Raincoast Books and return the copies of Harry Potter to our possession,” pleaded Jamie Broadhurst of Raincoast Books on CTV News. “At one minute past midnight on the 16th, we promise to return to them the hard cover version along with a signed autograph from J.K.Rowling and a T-shirt.” Millions of copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are expected to be distributed to stores around the world and publishers have launched big security efforts to keep the wizard’s adventures a secret until the official release date. Raincoast Books, along with Bloomsbury Publishing PLC of Britain and author Rowling, were granted a so-called “John and Jane Dow'’ injunction last Saturday in B.C. Supreme Court. The injunction restrains anyone who has directly or indirectly received a copy or any other form of disclosure of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from disclosing all or any information from the book before 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. The book’s authorized publicity machine is, of course, exempted. The court order also calls for anyone who receives unauthorized material from the book to turn it in to the publishers and delete any electronic copies. Raincoast and other Harry Potter publishers struggled to maintain their embargo on the last book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in June 2003. A Wal-Mart store in Quebec accidentally sold a few copies before the official release date and Raincoast staff patrolled the Internet to look for any possible leaks. A day before the book’s release, the publisher got a court injunction to keep a newspaper from printing an early review. Rowling’s chronicle of a young English sorcerer’s adventures have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.