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As I sit here in my Gryffindor sweatshirt, this post will highlight that I’m a little bit of a nerd. (I guess this was probably obvious because I have been writing about the boring aspects of running a business with you Silhouette or Cricut for over 4 years now!) In any case, let’s get on with this.
Can You Legally Make and Sell Harry Potter Related Products?
No, absolutely not. Everything Harry Potter is well protected with multiple trademarks that are owned by Warner Brothers Entertainment. In fact, it’s difficult to find something related to Harry Potter that isn’t trademarked. Everything from the names of the books and movies, to house names, and the term ‘Muggle’ are trademarked.
Warner Brothers Entertainment Cracking Down
I’m sure that most Cutting for Business readers already knew this. However, I wanted to offer a little caution in today’s post. Warner Brothers Entertainment has been actively seeking out crafters in the last few months on trademark infringements. A kind blog reader has allowed me to use her Etsy Notice of Infringement letter as a caution to others. All identifying information has been removed.
Trust me, you don’t want to receive one of these or put your craft business on the line. I highly advise you to remove any listings related to Harry Potter today.
Help spread the word: Save the image below to Pinterest.
María Sánchez
Monday 28th of November 2022
What an interesting article, thank you very much. It is clear that if one sells a digital design of harry potter is illegal, but I have the doubt if one gives away the digital design (downloadable totally free) so that people can use it in personal projects (non-commercial) is still illegal?
L
Thursday 11th of November 2021
Yea, my shop was also targeted. But I was confused because when I looked there are TONS of Harry Potter related things people are selling on Etsy. I just don't get how some can sell it and others cannot.
Christine, Cutting for Business
Thursday 11th of November 2021
Maybe the shops that are not shut down have a license to sell Harry Potter products.
JoBeeT
Sunday 7th of November 2021
I agree with everyone above! I received a similar email for having a HP handmade greeting card for $12. Seriously, the small companies are being attacked while I see other companies on Etsy making a whole lot more money than I could ever make. I wish I had seen this article before I was accused of doing "such a bad thing" to such a large company. I do feel a little better that I am not the only one (sorry for you guys as well). Seems like Warner Brothers could do better things with their money and time, like help the homeless or feed the hungry, rather than spending it on hurting small businesses because we sell minimally priced items.
Sara
Thursday 15th of September 2022
@Christine, Cutting for Business, Well said Christine. Small business is not above the law, and are very quick to scream when someone copy's their work I find.
Christine, Cutting for Business
Thursday 11th of November 2021
Honestly, Warner Brothers has no responsibility to help the homeless or feed the hungry. You used their intellectual property without permission and got caught. Consider getting a license if you want to continue selling HP products.
Am
Thursday 30th of May 2019
I wish I would have read this article before I received the exact same email today. I haven’t made a single sale of any HP items, thankfully. My question is, as long as I don’t list anything else HP related, am I ok or will this go beyond an email notice?
Christine, Cutting for Business
Wednesday 3rd of July 2019
It is likely that if you don't relist the item, you won't hear from them again. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that though.
Ellen
Sunday 31st of March 2019
I recently received the exact same letter from Etsy regarding a cross stitch pattern (yes, it was Harry Potter related). I confess I was unaware of the legal ramifications and understand now why it was removed and certainly won’t be doing anything similar in the future! My shop is small, it’s honestly more of a hobby and creative outlet for me than a money making venture. What really puzzles me is the huge volume of Harry Potter related items that are still listed (at last count over 2000 cross stitch patterns alone and over 95,000 items in general). The day I received the letter I noticed the number of Harry Potter related patterns went down by about 200 in one afternoon. However, it appears that sellers are simply relisting those items because that number has crept back up again! If Warner Brothers is actively seeking out trademark violations it is being done in a very inconsistent and haphazard manner. There are shops that have a very large volume of sales with very blatant Harry Potter stuff that have been selling for years - as much as I understand and will comply it makes me wonder why certain items are targeted and not others.
Sam
Friday 28th of May 2021
Hello dear, as I'm reading your post right now I got an extreme relief and God bless you. Because I just had a notice of infringement of intellectual property from Warners brothers through Etsy, stating that I have violated their copyright by listing a Harry Potter whach. I was so anxious as if I have committed a crime by listing a watch for just $20 dollars. Minutes later as I was browsing the web, I saw tons of Harry Potter products on Etsy, eBay and other platforms and asked myself : Did I list Disneyland for sale which I never owned nor seen in my life to be treated like that? And thanks to you and your post for the big relief since their notice made me feel like I have done something extremely bad. Goodness !
My best regards !
Jennifer
Tuesday 6th of October 2020
The same thing has just happened to me over an Etsy listing. The email scared the life out of me to be honest! I thought there would be a law suit or something! I’ve also noticed loads of Harry Potter related products on Etsy, surely they haven’t all got authorisation?! My business is also just a hobby, I’m hardly making a killing out of my Harry Potter themed brooches!
Christine, Cutting for Business
Saturday 18th of May 2019
Sometimes it definitely seems unfair to get listings removed when others stay.