Indian court backs Bollywood in 'Harry Potter' dispute

September 23, 2008 03:36:28 PM

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A New Delhi court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by Hollywood studio Warner Bros against the makers of Bollywood film "Hari Puttar" over its title, lawyers for both sides said.

Warner Bros, which owns the rights to the blockbuster "Harry Potter" movies, argued the Indian film sounded too similar to the name of their young wizard hero.

"The case has been dismissed. The court said that Warner Bros had known the title of the film since 2005 and had delayed bringing the case to court until the last moment," defending lawyer Pratibha Singh told AFP.

The Delhi High Court added that consumers who read the "Harry Potter" books, written by J.K. Rowling, were sufficiently educated to know "Hari Puttar" was different, Singh said.

Warner Bros said in a statement Monday it was assessing the ruling, adding that it believed the film's title "unfairly sought to confuse consumers and benefit from the well-known and well-loved Harry Potter brand."

"Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors" was due to open earlier this month, but producers delayed its release after some television networks refused to air trailers due to the legal dispute.

The film -- a comedy about the adventures of a 10-year-old Indian boy whose family moves to England -- is scheduled to premiere in Mumbai on Wednesday and will be on general release from Friday.

The makers of "Hari Puttar" said their product had nothing in common with the boy wizard movies.

"Our film bears no resemblance to the Hollywood film Harry Potter and it is a completely different story," Munish Purii, chief operating officer of Mumbai-based Mirchi Movies, had earlier told reporters.

Producers argued that Hari was a common Indian name and "Puttar" is Hindi for son.

Warners' next Harry Potter instalment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," is due for worldwide release next summer. It is the sixth movie adaptation of Rowling's seven books.

The Harry Potter films have grossed more than 4.47 billion dollars since 2001, making it one of the most lucrative franchises of all time.