Court gives okay to Kolkata 'Harry Potter' pandal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to restrain a Kolkata-based Durga Puja committee from using the statues and images of Harry Potter characters during the nine-day festival. 
   
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, however, made it clear that the court's order would be applicable till October 26, saying, "any (further) use of these characters will be subject to the prior permission of the author of Harry Potter series, J K Rowling."
   
The court also directed the Puja Committee to file an undertaking stating that they would not use any character from the book without permission in future.
   
The lawsuit filed by Rowling had sought a restraint order from the Court against the puja committee at Salt Lake from using Harry Potter characters in the pandal.
   
Using the characters without taking due permission was a clear cut violation of Rowling's intellectual property rights, the suit contended.
   
The pandal has been designed in a manner which resembles Hogwarts Castle described in the book and displays statues of Potter characters like Hagrid and Hedgewig apart from Potter himself, the suit said.

The counsel, appearing for the Committee, Deepak Nag, submitted that it was a non-profit making society and was using the characters only for charitable purpose.

Rowling's counsel sought some compensation on the ground that the Puja Committee was making money out of the advertisements through hoardings and posters.
   
However, the court refused to pass any such order stating that its order was only for this festival season.