Harry Potter 7 domains already protected

Angus Kidman
Friday, 22 December 2006 00:38

Your IT - Home IT

As fans of Harry Potter go crazy online analysing the possible implications of the name of the final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, author JK Rowling's agent has already taken steps to ensure cyber-squatters don't exploit the newly-revealed title.

The name of the last book in the best-selling series, which has been the subject of intense speculation, was announced via a puzzle on Rowling's official site, and subsequently confirmed in press releases from her UK and US publishers.

While domain squatters are likely to try and register names which relate to the book's title, they may have their work cut out for them. Rowling's literary agency, Christopher Little, has already registered dozens of domain names, including harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows.com and deathlyhallows.info.

A WHOIS search by IT Wire confirmed that most obvious variants in the .com, .net, .org, .info and .co.uk domain spaces had already been registered by the agency, with commencement dates set just before the official announcement of the new book. While the effort hasn't been totally comprehensive -- deathlyhallows.com.au remains available, for instance, and similar sounding sites such as deadlyhallows.com have quickly been claimed by others -- it is likely to discourage third parties from trying to profit by association with the name.

Anyone who does is likely to find themselves quickly facing a challenge via WIPO or another dispute resolution agency. Rowling's publishers and Warner Bros, which produces the movie adaptations of the series, have been active in defending copyrights associated with the boy wizard, whose fate remains uncertain after Rowling revealed that at least two characters would die in the final instalment of the seven-part series.

No official release date has been set for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but publishing industry opinion is that it will be on sale at some point before mid-2007.