Defense Against the Dark Arts

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Website
Name: Defense Against the Dark Arts
Owner/Maintainer: Heather Lawver, Alastair Alexander, Gypsy Silverleaf
Dates: early 2001
Type: fan activism
Fandom: Harry Potter
URL:
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Defense Against the Dark Arts was a website created by three fans to protest Warner Bros. actions against Harry Potter fans in 2001.

See more about this conflict at PotterWar.

site banner, portraying owls

The Website's Owners

Some of the Info on the Site

  • updates about interviews and legal status
  • a link to an online petition [1]
  • a guestbook for fan comments [2]
  • short bios about the three website owners [3]
  • original mission statement, revised mission statement [4]
  • the site's [5]

Original Mission Statement

The site had two mission statements. This is the first one.

Here's a copy of what our original mission was, back when the boycott was in full swing:

Very few people are aware that over the past few months, the copyright owners of the Harry Potter books have been sending threatening emails to the owners and operators of several Harry Potter fan sites, threatening them with lawsuits unless they hand over their domain names or remove content. When asked why they are doing this, Time Warner, the said copyright owners, claim that they are doing so because they believe the fans are only creating these websites for illegal profit off a character which they do not own. While we acknowledge that there are "cybersquatters" out there with evil intentions to illegally make profit, we do not think it is alright for Warner Brothers to threaten webmasters and webmistresses whose sole purpose in creating a fan site is to bring the fans together into a learning, friendly environment. How could they possibly think, for example, that a 13 year old girl, the webmaster of www.besthogwarts.com, the Headmaster of an online "school" was out to "confuse" and "mislead" fans in order to take their money?

We believe that what Warner Brothers is doing is just wrong. It is unethical, it is immoral, and it is downright nasty. A major corporation has been playing the bully on the playground, scaring innocent children into thinking that if they do not hand over a domain name, a website, or a few photos, that they will lose all their pocket-money and their families will go into debt. Is this the price for "corporate advancement"? Sacrificing children?

By closing down one, two, or three dozen fan sites, Time Warner has sent the fans a very disturbing message, to which we have a very definite response. We Harry Potter fans are a close-knit community, when you pick on one of us, you pick on all of us.

That is why we have formed the Defense Against the Dark Arts. It is an alliance of fans, dedicated to sticking up for each other, standing for what is just and right, and banding together to stop these sacrifices. Legal threats are not necessary, and by no means will we become uncivil in this fight, but we will not stop until every Harry Potter fan site is safe from "big executive" intimidation. [6]

"Our demands, for all the world to see"

Here's a list of our demands, for all the world to see: 1) All domains returned to their rightful owners. We are not talking about the blatant cases of cyber-squatting; just the fans you took the domain names from. I.e.www.harrypotter-world.com, www.harrypotternetwork.net, www.harrypotterfans.co.uk etc. We're sure over the course of one year Warner Brothers sent out more threats than we are aware of. We would like to place it on the honor of Warner Brothers to return all domain names that were taken, regardless of whether or not we are aware of them.

2) An assurance that this will never happen again. If ever they suspect a case of cybersquatting, Warner Brothers may consider me at their service to investigate it. We want all fans safe and free to make sites without fear of legal threats.

3) We would like to see some effort to make it up to the fans who have suffered. Whether this is in a substantial donation to UNICEF, or tickets to the premiere for the actual fans who were threatened themselves; we'd like to see Warner Brothers come up with a plan that shows how sorry they feel. [7]

The Petition

For the past year, Time Warner, the folks making the Harry Potter movie, have been sending out threatening emails to the owners of Harry Potter fan sites, telling them that they're misleading fans, breaking the law, and a whole lot more rubbish that just isn't true.

When a few fans tried to protest, they really did get their lawyers involved. Just like the emails said.

"If we do not hear from you by 15 December 2000, we shall put this matter into the hands of our solicitors."

(email sent to Claire Field, the owner of www.harrypotterguide.co.uk. She's only 15.)

DADA/PotterWar has been leading a boycott against Warner Brothers, hoping to put an end to all the threats and legal action against innocent children. Unfortunately, Diane Nelson, the Vice President of Warner Bros. and the woman in charge of the Harry Potter franchise, has yet to apologize.

That's where we need your help.

We've created an online petition that, once we have a substantial amount of signatures, will be sent to Diane Nelson, and the lawyers at Warner Brothers' various legal offices around the world. By signing your name and email address, you are showing your support for our cause, and sending the message to Warner Brothers that you don't like seeing kids get bullied.

All signatures will be kept perfectly private from the public eye. They will only be viewed by Heather Lawver, Alastair Alexander (the representatives for DADA/PotterWar), our webguru technician, and then finally, the folks at Warner Brothers. They will not be sold to any third parties by us. (Kids, please get your parents permission before signing.)

Please, we can't do this without your help. All it takes it one minute to show support for your fellow Harry Potter fans; one minute to send a clear message to Warner Brothers that the fans will not tolerate their disgusting, money-grubbing actions. Please, sign the petition, before Harry Potter disappears from the web.

Sign the Petition [8]

"Claiming Victory"

From June 13, 2001 or before:

It has come to our attention that two of the remaining publicly known domain dispute cases have been settled by Warner Brothers. Through a friend of a friend of a friend of Tom Morris, Ross McCaw, and Peter (last name withheld) have each reached some form of a settlement with Warner Brothers, although we have not been told what that settlement is. A few weeks ago, Tom, Ross, and Peter suddenly went quiet. No one heard from them for ages. Today, we received word that as part of that settlement, they were not supposed to talk to us regarding the boycott. Although we do not appreciate the fishiness of the situation, what we have come here to accomplish is done. We've settled all but one of the cases we were fighting for. Scott Allison still doesn't have www.harrypotterfan.co.uk, but he knows full well that Warner Brothers is never going to give it back.

After much debate, Alastair Alexander of PotterWar and I have decided to end on a moral highnote. Although Warner Brothers has not fully met our demands, they've settled the cases we know about. However, this does not mean we're going to simply disappear. PotterWar and the Defense Against the Dark Arts will remain on the internet as a watchdog. We'll be here constantly checking up on Warner Brothers' actions, making sure they never do anything like this again. Also, we urge the fans that if they are being mistreated, to contact us immediately. We'll do everything in our power to protect the fans and make sure everything moves along swimmingly. [9]

Controversy Regarding Some Promotional Materials

Some fans took offense with at least one of the "Defense Against the Dark Arts" decisions regarding theme:

From B Bennett:

I agree that WB took a step too far in comandeering websites, but your converted WWII fliers also take a step too far. The actions of WB against website owners in no way compares to WWII, and by displaying these fliers, you're trivializing one of the most terrible wars in our history. I consider these fliers every bit as distastful as WB's letters against the young website owners you support. I hope you will reconsider them. [10]

Heather Lawver, one of the site's owners, replied the same day on the guestbook, but also via an email:

To All Who May Be Concerned: Re: Propaganda Posters.

I'm sorry if anyone has been upset by the posters, but I'm also sorry that you didn't understand our true intent. Originally, our leaflets were plain black text on white paper. Nothing at all invigorating. Then, the idea struck us to combine the leaflets with something educational. Why not illustrate how our grandfathers excited enthusiasm for a righteous cause by using their posters from world war two? Those posters proved successful for them. They excited the people on the homefront, they increased production of materials needed for the soldiers on the battlefied, they sent morale through the roof! We thought, why not, in the process of spreading the word about the whole ordeal with Warner Brothers, also give Teachers and Parents the opportunity to teach a history lesson? It is a tried and true method to use Harry Potter as a teaching tool. Take something the children love, and incorporate it into other aspects of education. DADA/PotterWar is a social studies and economics lesson. We merely tried to include History as well. Please believe we had no ill-intention. What is so wrong with patriotism? With fighting for freedom of speech? What is so wrong with thanking our ancestors for a useful tool in battle? And yes, I say battle, because this is what we are in the thick of. We're fighting for the same principles that so many have fought for before. Freedom of speech, freedom from oppression, and freedom from fear. It just so happens that the enemy in this situation isn't hiding behind tanks, submarines, and stealth airplanes. They're hiding behind lawyers, big-wig CEOs, and PR people. But, what they're doing is the same; they're threatening children, taking away those freedoms. That calls for a "war" of some kind. But, this is the 21st century. Civilized people don't fight with guns, we fight with words. "The pen is mightier than the sword." Our campaign has proved that. Our supporters know that.

We're sorry if the images offend you. We will look at them carefully, and add a disclaimer if needed to the gallery page, explaining our reasons for using them. It was simply a way to incorporate history, thank our ancestors for their hardwork and enthusiasm, and try to use that history and heritage to excite the supporters of our cause. If you notice, the messages on those posters are about uniting families, are about fighting for freedom of speech and other freedoms I mentioned above. And most of all, fighting for those freedoms in a civilized manner. Again, our supporters know that.

Sincerely, Heather Lawver: DADA Senior Strategist & American Representative - www.dprophet.com/dada [11]

Some Links to DADA Pages

Fan Comments

Fan Comments Posted to the Guestbook

There are MANY comments at the Guestbook. Below is just a sample of some early ones.

[March 23, 2001]: Are you crazy, WB?!? Who is your advisor --- Voldemort? Come on, how many MegaBucks will you spend for advertising? Those kids do it for nothing!!! Instead of sueing them you should consider supporting them wherever you can! *They* will make your movie a success or a flop!

[March 25, 2001]: Peaceful but neverfading resistance against the evil forces of oppression is the key to a final victory! We here in Germany survived at least two of them and now its going against the latest challange: The unreflected and ruthless misuse of (global) business! Go on like this!!!

[March 27, 2001]: DADA and Potterwars are doing a great job. I wish the supporters out there would not just stop at signing the guestbook, but also let WB know what they think. Your comments do not have to be much different from what you wrote here. WB needs to hear from you to really know how extensive the support is. I e-mailed them and even got a reply. Nice, but if a VP has time to do that, they aren`t hearing from enough fans.

[March 28, 2001]: Did you know that Teen Newsweek has a great story about you guys? That's how I found out. I'm a 6th and 7th grade teacher and I LOVE Harry Potter and the rest. Keep up the good work. I'd like to get an address for WB, because the more people who write to them, the more they have to listen--and just think--I'm going to have 100 students read the article in Teen Newsweek, and they're going to pass it on to their family and friends. The injustice of the whole situation will anger them even if they're not a fan--and WB should be VERY afraid of THAT!! Keep up the go[od work.

[March 29, 2001]: I totally agree with all that your saying. I'll make sure to spread the word to all my friends

[March 30, 2001]: I really like this site and PotterWar and what there trying to do! And I'd like to thank all the people who made this, helped make it and those who helped fight agianst WB's.

[April 1, 2001]: I am very glad to see you doing what you are. It is most ridiculous what WB is doing there. Yes, as a big Harry Potter fan I can't wait to see the movie, but still -- seeing what is going on, I wish JKR would have never sold the rights to WB. We all share the magical world in our heads and now have to see how the world will be flooded with merchandise by a major company just being out for the big dollar. They don't seem to understand that Harry Potter is so much more than just a trend and a great opportunity to makealot of profit. Keep on doing your great job!!

[April 2, 2001]: I love the fact that everyone is actually reacting to this news and not just sitting down and taking it. The only question is why? Why did j.k rowling sell the rights in the first place. She says in interviews that she's apprehensive about what the film will do to her characters but signed them away anyhow. Would anyone actually have a way of contacting her? because i'd like her to tell us all she managed to put a price tag on her imagination. I would still much rather read her books then see them on screen and i thought that was the point in the first place.

[April 2, 2001]: i feel sorry for u. the people who made these web pages probally worked hard to make these.Anyway goodluck and i hope u can get ur webpages back.

[April 3, 2001]: Hewo! I love this site and I think that what you guys are doing is great! WB has NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to push around kids like they are doing! ^_^

[April 3, 2001]: This attack against the right of free speech is appalling. I can't believe that any confusion would actually result from a retail site being confused with a fan site. I think that both could work together. The actions of WB are surely censorship and I am thankful that those of us who veiw this as evil can act together. Thanks to DADA!

[April 3, 2001]: I signed the petition proudly. It's so silly how all these other people have fan/RPG sites about Disney, Redwall, Star Wars, etc., and yet no one's ordered them to take down their sites. Warner Brothers is just worried that kids might muscle in on their profits. It shows what sort of a company Warner Brothers actually is....a money hungry, lowlife one.

[April 5, 2001]: Those Warner Brother people are so ingnorent!!! Kids are helping them on profit! I heard about this from TIMES!!! I wish I were this popular. I should stand up for what I want now!!

[April 6, 2001]:

WB does have the right to harry potter domain names. If it didn't do anything about children's web sites, that wouldn't hurt them, most of you think. but you're wrong. Little things grow. If another company saw that WB sisn't do anything about HP domain names, they could exploit that. Do something that would be really bad for WB and make a profit. Then if WB took them to court, they might not be carged for infringement because WB didn't do anything about the domain names, so why should they do anything about this new problem now? It's still infrigement. WB isn't bullying people. It's just protecting what it has a right to protect : their buisness. After all, getting a new domain name or URL isn't THAT hard, is it??? You could just be nice and get a new one!

Thanks for your consideration.

Please don't delete my last entry because it contradicts what you are working to attain. It's just an opinion and you don't have to agree (on a good persuasive site, you need arguments from both sides anyways)I'm not saying you are wrong and I'm not anti-potterwar. I'm just making a point.

Of course I will not delete your post. You have a right to your opinion, however, I would like to try to explain our side of the story.
Yes, Warner Brothers does have a right to its business, and we are not arguing that fact. What we are disappointed in is the methods they chose to enforce their rights. Also, why target children? Under the law, fans have a right to form clubs and they have a right to the domain names as long as they are not misleading in any way.
About my first point, what they did, sending threatening letters to children, we believe to be wrong. If they had thought it through, it would have been more appropriate to make some effort to find out who owned the site, be it an illegal cybersquatting get-rich-quick-seeker, then they could proceed with the legal threats. But when it's an innocent Harry Potter fan who wants to do nothing else but share their love for Harry Potter, there is no place for legal matters. Would you like to see 'enforcing business' go so far as to shut down all the Harry Potter fan sites on the net? No matter how innocent they are? I can think of hundreds of thousands of children whose hearts would be broken if, say, Jenna's UHPFC (www.harrypotterfans.net) were shut down because Warner Brothers was protecting its rights.
Thank you for your opinion. If you would like to post again, please, feel free to do so.
Thanks again. : Sincerely, : Heather Lawver : DADA Senior Strategist & American Representative

[April 7, 2001]: Just a few words to give you my support and to offer myself to translate the Manifesto into Spanish (my mother tongue) if you think it interesting. May the evil forces be destroyed!

[April 8, 2001]: I was astonished to read that Time Warner would target children and teenagers for sharing ideas concerning literature. I hope the boycott works. If a person, no matter the age, registers a domain name and pays for that name, it would seem that no one has the right to take the name away. I would also think that maybe Time Warner would be in for a few lawsuits for theft. But that is just my opinion.

[April 10, 2001]: My son would like to organize a boycott here in ohio. I have four kids and they all love Harry Potter, but are willing to boycott anything Warner just to make a point. Any advice you could give him would be appreciated. Keep up the good work. We are all here to back you up!!!

[April 12, 2001]: What's wrong with making Harry Potter sites? It takes a full year for J.K. Rowling to wright the next book in the series, and during that time while we're all waiting for it, it helps us if we're able to chat with other people about the books. We are not doing anything wrong, and W.B. should be happy that it's getting so much publicity, not angry!

[April 14, 2001]: I really like the Harry Potter series and I think that people should be allowed to create websites as long as they are positive over the info they are putting on the site. I would agree with WB to the limit that if the website leads people to confusion or lies about the Harry Potter Books, or about the people in the books that they should be asked about it. If they go to far maybe they do deserve to lose the site, but as far as I am concerned I belive that people who like the Books should be allowed to create the sites about Harry Potter they wish to create!

[April 14, 2001]: I used to go to a roleplaying 'hogwarts' before it closed down and I don't belive WB did anything with it. But I was very very upset when it closed down, and I would have been much MORE upset if it had been WB who closed it. I got here through Hogwarts and I know how much that site meant to me. That's why I'm supporting this. =) So, my full support and so on, I'm putting your banner up at my site (not the link above, a different one - I want to keep my board private) and signed your petition, and I'll do whatever else you ask me to stop WB closing down children's sites.

[April 18, 2001]: I'm there for DADA!! I'm already going to go to school and tell all my Harry Potter fanactics friends about this so they to can join the fight against the REAL you-know-who.

[April 19, 2001]: DOWN WITH THE EVIL EMPIRE WARNER BROTHERS!!!!!! They are corrupting our beloved Harry Potter!!!! I printed out some of the posters you had on your site, and at least 10 people asked me about them today They are now disgusted with the WB. Thanx so much for giving me the opportunity to do something about this tragedy.

[April 24, 2001]: I've not recieved word from WB [about my website], but this is wrong! And they let Jelly Belly steal Bertie Botts!...This is Outrageous! If J.K. Rowling knew of this, I'm sure she would stop it! -- Kristi, age 11, grade 5

References

<references>

  1. ^ "Sign your name and vow your support for the Harry Potter fan sites. It's entirely free, and completely private. Just enter your name and email address, and it will be added to the secure, private petition which, once it has enough names, will be sent directly to Diane Nelson, the Vice President of Warner Brothers." -- The Home of the Fight Against the Real You-Know-Who: Waiting...
  2. ^ Guestbook
  3. ^ Meet DADA
  4. ^ Our Mission
  5. ^ manifesto
  6. ^ Our Mission
  7. ^ The Home of the Fight Against the Real You-Know-Who: Waiting...
  8. ^ Name is All It Takes to Save Harry Potter
  9. ^ The Home of the Fight Against the Real You-Know-Who: Claiming Victory (June 13, 2001 or before)
  10. ^ a fan's comment on the guestbook (April 24th 2001)
  11. ^ a fan's comment on the guestbook (April 24th 2001)
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