copyright image @Tealin

‘Harry Potter and The Temple Of Doom’ – no, wait, ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows‘ is cleaning up at the box office, as predicted. But in all the years old HP has been with us, how many of us know the extent to which he’s infiltrated our every day lives?

Get this: Quidditch is now a real sport – and it seems as if neither J K Rowling or Warner Brothers can stop them.

So, what, like people are now flying?

Erm. No.

The sport, adapted as Muggle Quidditch or just “Quidditch” in the real world, has been played ON THE GROUND (duh!) since around 2003 – and now more than 200 universities and colleges are part of the International Quidditch Association. Also, these skirmishes are the cornerstone of conventions surrounding the character, books and movies (Those attending Nimbus 2003, The Witching Hour, and Infinitus 2010 will know what I’m talking about).

So how the HELL did the author or the Hollywood Studio miss out on the actual sport when they trademarked the rights to ‘Quidditch’ way back in 1999?

It seems although the copywrite with Warner Brothers covers – deep breath:

“sporting goods, games and playthings, namely, action figures and accessories therefor; plush toys; balloons; bathtub toys; ride-on toys; equipment sold as a unit for playing card games; toy vehicles; dolls; flying discs; electronic hand-held game unit; game equipment sold as a unit for playing a board game, a card game, a manipulative game, a parlor game, a parlor-type electronic game and an action type target game; stand alone video output game machines; jigsaw and manipulative puzzles; paper face masks; skateboards; ice skates; water squirting toys; balls, namely, playground balls, soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs; baseball gloves; swimming floats for recreational use; kickboard flotation devices for recreational use; surfboards; swim boards for recreational use; swim fins; toy bakeware and toy cookware; toy banks; and Christmas tree ornaments”

and

“Clothing for men, women and children, namely, shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging suits, trousers, pants, shorts, tank tops, rainwear, cloth bibs, skirts, blouses, dresses, suspenders, sweaters, jackets, coats, raincoats, snow suits, ties, robes, hats, caps, sunvisors, belts, scarves, sleepwear, pajamas, lingerie, underwear, boots, shoes, sneakers, sandals, booties, slipper socks, swimwear and masquerade and Halloween costumes and masks sold in connection therewith”

and

“Motion picture films featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure and animation, and motion picture films for broadcast on television featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure and animation; audio tapes, audio-video tapes, audio video cassettes, audio video discs, and digital versatile discs featuring music, comedy, drama, action, adventure, and animation; stereo headphones; batteries; cordless telephones; audio cassette and CD players; CD ROM computer game discs; telephone and radio pagers; short motion picture film cassettes featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure and animation to be used with hand-held viewers or projectors; video cassette recorders and players, compact disc players, digital audio tape recorders and players; radios; mouse pads; eyeglasses, sunglasses and cases therefore; game equipment sold as a unit for playing a parlor-type computer game; video and computer game programs; video game cartridges and cassettes; cellular telephone accessories, namely, hands-free accessories, cellular telephone covers and cellular telephone face covers; encoded magnetic cards, namely, phone cards, credit cards, cash cards, debit cards and magnetic key cards; and decorative magnets”

AND

“Printed matter and paper goods, namely, books featuring characters from animated, action adventure, comedy and drama features, comic books, children’s books, magazines featuring characters from animated, action adventure, comedy and drama features, coloring books, children’s activity books; stationery, writing paper, envelopes, notebooks, diaries, note cards, greeting cards, trading cards; lithographs; pens, pencils and cases therefor, erasers, crayons, markers, colored pencils, painting sets for children, chalk and chalkboards; decals, heat transfers; posters; mounted and unmounted photographs; book covers, book marks, calendars, gift wrapping paper; paper party favors and paper party decorations, namely, paper napkins, paper place mats, crepe paper, paper hats, invitations, paper table cloths, paper cake decorations; printed transfers for embroidery or fabric appliqués; printed patterns for costumes, pajamas, sweatshirts and t-shirts”

as well as:

“Bath linens, namely, bath towels and wash cloths; bed linens, namely, bed blankets, bed canopies, bed pads, bed sheets, bed spreads, pillow cases, comforters, duvet covers, mattress covers, dust ruffles, crib bumpers, pillow shams and bed spreads; textile wall hangings; curtains; draperies; linen; kitchen linens, namely, barbecue mitts, cloth doilies, cloth napkins, dish cloths, fabric table cloths, kitchen towels, fabric place mats, oven mitts, washing mitts, fabric table runners, pot holders and cloth coasters; handkerchiefs, quilts, and golf towels”

and they also covered:

“Clocks; watches; jewelry, namely, bracelets, ankle bracelets, brooches, chains, charms, cuff-links, earrings, lapel pins, necklaces, ornamental pins, pendants and rings”

Neither Rowling nor Warner Brothers actually got copyright on the ‘expression of the game’ – I guess that’s because they thought flying was involved. But no.

It’s an interesting turn of events considering that Harry Potter condoms didn’t sit well with big ole Warner Bros. I wonder if the Pope liked ‘em?

Moral of the story? Just because you’ve got everything covered, you don’t have EVERYTHING covered. (No, that is not a condom gag but it could be.)