Can a Durga Puja structure built for the sole purpose of the entertainment of pandal hoppers be an infringement of copyright even if it is modeled after the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books?
Apparently not, according to the Delhi High Court. The gigantic puja pandal that has come up in Salt Lake’s FD-Block replicating the Hogarts School can now exist till Oct 26. Beyond this if the pandal still remains, the organizers have to seek permission from Warner Brothers the copyright owners.
Earlier the Delhi reps of Warner Brothers filed a 394-page suit in the court asking for a steep fine to be imposed on the puja organizers for breaching their copyright. Warner Brothers for themselves however saw the things a bit differently (excerpts below from Telegraph).
“Sadly, the organisers of this large-scale commercially sponsored event did not approach us for permission to go ahead,” the company said in a statement issued in London.
“This event falls outside the guidelines set up by Warner Bros., J.K. Rowling and her publishers to help charitable and not-for-profit organisations to run small-scale themed events that protect fans and allow everyone to enjoy Harry Potter books, films and events in the spirit in which they were created,” it added.
Now that the clouds have passed, the organizers are happily going ahead with their plans. Already lots of people are congregating at the site because of this publicity. The FD-Block puja had interestingly some years back built their pandal replicating the Titanic, but no complaints came that time.
Update:
Here are 3 pictures of the FD-Block puja taken on Oct 19, the Mahashtami day.
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