Potter fan hits roadblock with Halloween party

A single mother from the United Kingdom was planning to have a Harry Potter-themed party this weekend to celebrate Halloween. Instead Ms. Marmite Lover will have to change things up a bit.

Last Friday, she received a cease-and-desist letter from Warner Bros. suggesting that her "proposed use of the Harry Potter properties...without our consent would amount to an infringement of Warner's rights."

Ms. Lover was looking to charge a small entry fee (as she has for other themed parties), but says that no harm was intended. She set up a small site to purchase tickets online.

"My living room holds under 30 people, this is hardly some cynical money spinning exercise – at a maximum of 25 British pounds a head I won't make a profit, I'll be struggling to cover the costs of the ingredients and props I've shelled out on, such as dry ice and miracle berries."

Warner Bros. said they do not, of course, object to her holding a generic wizard/Halloween night and that is what Ms. Lover has been forced to do.

What do you think of this? Should Warner Bros. be shutting down Potter-themed Halloween parties? Or is Ms. Lover in the wrong?

Posted by Micah on Oct 26th | 153 Comments