Books of Magic vs Harry Potter

[stacygalore]

The thread about Stardust got me thinking about Neil Gaiman and his graphic novel "Books 
of Magic".  I haven't read it in a long time, several years before reading Harry Potter.  A good 
friend of mine refused to read Harry Potter because he was convinced JKR ripped off Neil 
Gaiman.  Has anybody heard of this theory?  I think it is just a coincidence.  But I'm curious to 
know what other people think about the similarities: young boy who does magic, has dark 
hair and glasses, owns an owl.  To be honest, I can't even remember any of the plotlines of 
"Books of Magic" since it has been so long since I read it.  I don't know if there are other 
similarities.