p2pnet news | Movies:- Harry Potter author JK Rowling is suing a community group in India for breach of copyright because it built a full-scale Hogwarts look-alike for a religious festival.

“Lawyers representing the Edinburgh-based author and Warner Brothers, who hold the rights in India, yesterday confirmed a petition had been filed in the Delhi High Court but refused to comment further,” says The Scotsman.

“Organisers said a mock steam train was also being constructed next to the set, which is intended to resemble the Hogwarts Express, as part of the Hindu festival of the Goddess Durga.”

Durga is a many handed Hindu deity who killed a demon and triumphed over evil.

Says the Hindustan Times:

Greeting one at the cave-like entry, the plan was to have covers of Ms Rowling’s seven books and a range of magical creatures that Hogwarts’s gamekeeper Hagrid would have heartily approved of.

The organisers, who knew they had a sure-shot crowd-puller – and a money-spinner from the adjoining stalls – in hand, hiked the rates for setting up stalls and banners. Now, alas, they have been handed a Rs 20 lakh ‘compensation’ bill. The organisers should have realised that Brand India is on a roll now and with all eyes on India, they would need a magic wand to escape the Dementors of Ms Rowling.

With puja webcasts and podcasts becoming as popular as pandal-hopping, these agents would have sniffed out the money-making opportunity sooner or later.

Meanwhile, “It’s just a theme,” Chicago Sun-Times has festival organizer Robin Mukherjee saying.
“We have also modeled the Titanic and no one sued us.”

Slashdot it!

Also See:
The Scotsman – Rowling sues festival over use of Hogwarts, October 12, 2007
Hindustan Times – When the pujas come Rowling in, October 12, 2007
Chicago Sun-Times – It’s a Muggle’s game, October 12, 2007

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 5:32 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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