Date: 23rd January 2001

Warner Bros. Warns Another Teenager About Potter Site


Warner Bros. lawyers have threatened legal action against Christie Chan, a 15-year-old Singaporean, who has registered the Internet domain name .

Warners said in a letter to the girl that her use of the Harry Potter name was "likely to cause consumer confusion or dilution of intellectual property rights." The studio touched off an uproar among Potter fans last month when it sent a similar letter to a 15-year-old British girl, Claire Field, demanding that she hand over the URL .

After U.K. attorneys rallied to her defense, Warner Bros. backed off and allowed her to keep the website provided that she state that it was an "unofficial Harry Potter site." The latest salvo against the Singaporean girl has refueled the fan controversy, with Kieren McCarthy, a columnist for the British Web publication The Register railing, "It really is depressing how global companies continue to justify outrageous, immoral behavior through profit or control."

Meanwhile, the Internet site has been set up "to protest at what's being done to Harry Potter fans in the name of J K Rowling, and as an expression of support for everyone currently getting the third degree from Warners."

Source: Studio Briefing