Judge Tosses Wyrd Lawsuit

An Ontario Superior Court dismissed a motion November 4th by a Canadian folk group that would have blocked the November 18th release of the latest Harry Potter movie in that country.

The Wyrd Sisters of Winnipeg, Manitoba, claimed a fictional rock band portrayed in “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire” would infringe on its name and damage its career. The band in the film does not use the name “Wyrd Sisters,” but the J.K. Rowling novel on which it is based refers to a group of hairy witches named The Weird Sisters.

The complaint was seeking $33 million in damages from Warner Bros.

The Wyrd Sisters claim they have owned the trademark on the name for 15 years and that the public would confuse the folk group with the Potter film band, which includes members of Radiohead and Pulp.

Officials with Warner Bros. argued there is no copyright or trademark infringement because the Wyrd Sisters’ name doesn’t appear in the film or on its soundtrack.