Protecting brands

The organiser of themed dinner parties has been warned by Warner Bros against holding a Harry Potter party on Halloween.

Warner Bros pulled out the trade mark and copyright guns and alleged infringement.

This reminds me of the time Disney told a kindergarten they weren’t allowed to have a Disney themed concert.

Can the studios prevent themed parties?

Not if they’re private. It wouldn’t make sense and it would be very difficult to show infringement. But the moment any money changes hands, organisers potentially fall into their sights. Ms Marmite Lover, the organiser, pleads on her blog that she makes very little money from dinner parties. Little money is still money which is still use in a trading/business context.

At the end of their letter, Warner Bros said that they had no problem with a generic wizard/Halloween theme, but some guests came as Harry Potter characters anyway.