No Hogwarts in Kolkata, says Rowling's lawyers

HOGWART HASSLES: A puja pandal based on Hogwart's theme has been slapped a fine for copyright violation. (Pic Courtesy: Warnerbros.com)

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Kolkata/New Delhi: James Cameroon and Michael Crighton, both did not have problems when the Titanic and Jurassic Park were used as themes for puja pandals (prayer tents) in Kolkata. Harry Potter author JK Rowling, however it seems, does not like the idea of Harry and friends joining in the puja celebrations. Legally, she has every right too.

A Kolkata puja committee got a rude shock when days before the puja, they are now faced with a Rs 2 million fine for copyright violations. Their crime is not taking appropriate permissions from Rowling for using Hogwarts -- the fictional Harry Potter school -- as a theme for their puja pandal this year.

As things were speeding up under a giant marquee modelled on Hogwarts, the FD Block Puja committee in Salt Lake got a rude shock when they received a summons from the Delhi High Court that the decorators must appear in court Friday.

According to the organisers, the summons run into 394 pages and mentions JK Rowling and others as the plaintiff. It states that the puja committee can carry out the puja after paying Rs 2 million.

Justice SK Kaul issued notice to Kolkata's Mondal Decorators for depicting the Harry Potter characters without seeking the permission of the author, who is based in Britain. The judge asked the decorator to file a reply to the allegations in the petition.

Counsel Rajiv Nair, appearing for Rowling who has filed a petition in absentia, alleged in the petition that the decorators violated the copyright act without obtaining the mandatory permission from the author. With only six days to go for the festival, the organisers don't know what to do.

"The summons has come at a time when the pandal is almost ready. We don't know what to do now because we can't afford to pay the fine. We are taking legal help and talking to West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty, our chief patron, to sort out the problem," block committee president Hiranmoy Roychowdhury said. "It appears the case was filed by Penguin, distributor of Harry Potter books in India. Our committee representatives will go to Delhi to sort out the matter," he added.

Nirmalya Roychowdhury, the regional sales manager of Penguin India that publishes the Harry Potter books said, "I am not sure whether the committee has taken permission for using the name of a very popular character. For using anything related to Harry Potter, written permission is necessary from an appropriate authority. Otherwise, legal action can be taken."

With days for the puja celebrations to start full-swing, the hapless puja organisers find the situation "unthinkable". There had never been any court summons to any puja organiser before with Kolkata's famed pandals choosing different themes every year. "We don't do it for business anyway," said Roychowdhury. However he adds that work on the pandal will not be stopped because the court has not issued any such directive yet.

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