Can Your Kid Be Sued for Dressing Up Like Harry Potter?

If you laughed at the question you obviously haven't heard that Warner Bros. banned a Harry Potter theme dinner in London because it the studio considered it an infringement of copyright.

Telegraph.co.uk's Amy Willis writes that "The not-for-profit event, which has been renamed 'Generic Wizard Night', was to have a menu of dandelion wine, pumpkin soup and Dumbledore's favourite - mint humbugs. Guests would have been led down 'Diagon Alley' by the side of the house and been met by a portrait of the 'Fat Lady' who would have demanded a password before they could be let in."

It can be argued that J. K. Rowling's lawsuit against the person who produced The Harry Potter Lexicon had some merit. But Warner's action is hard to understand and almost impossible for reasonable people to condone. Does Rowling even know about the studio's grinchy* pettiness?

Whether she does or not, parents had better start rethinking their children's Halloween costume and trading those Dumbledore outfits for pirate and fairy princess garb.

Trick or Treat, Tiffany and Johnny! You have thirty days to answer this subpoena.

Read about it here.

*And be careful about saying "Grinch" publicly - you may be infringing MGM's copyright.

RC