WB Lawyers Going After Harry Potter Prop Collectors?

So if I buy an item from a reputable prop seller, say PropStore or ScreenUsed, Premeire Props, do I have to worry about a studio possibly coming after me if the item was not procured legally or does PropStore and ScreenUsed, Premiere Props take care of all these legal matters prior to selling their items to protect the buyer?
 
Looks like the frog is on the warpath! :unsure


And if you wanted more evidence of why these props are never


Sold publicly:
Per ScreenUsed's website:

March 7, 2013 - We apologize, but the following lots have been removed from the sale.
...
Lot 141 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter's Wand
Lot 142 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Hermione Granger's Wand
Lot 143 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Ron Weasley's Wand
Lot 144 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Harry's Nimbus 2000 Broom Shaft
Lot 145 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Harry's Prophecy Record
Lot 146 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Set of 4 School Ties
Lot 147 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Set of 4 School Ties
Lot 148 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Hogwarts Invitation Envelope

No details provided as to why they were pulled... But I think we can all figure it out.
 
So if I buy an item from a reputable prop seller, say PropStore or ScreenUsed, Premeire Props, do I have to worry about a studio possibly coming after me if the item was not procured legally or does PropStore and ScreenUsed, Premiere Props take care of all these legal matters prior to selling their items to protect the buyer?

Really good question!
 
So if I buy an item from a reputable prop seller, say PropStore or ScreenUsed, Premeire Props, do I have to worry about a studio possibly coming after me if the item was not procured legally or does PropStore and ScreenUsed, Premiere Props take care of all these legal matters prior to selling their items to protect the buyer?

It's never legal to own stolen property, regardless of how reputable the seller is... I wouldn't EVER put PP in the same list as PS or SU for any reason, but I'm sure PS or SU would refuse to sell something if they knew it was stolen (or even suspected it was obtained 'less than legally'). But if they sold something that they didn't know was obtained illegally, and then you (the buyer) try to sell it in a public auction later, the studio can still take it from you. I don't know what recourse you would have at that point to do anything, you'd have to contact whoever you bought it from at that point. If the studio itself didn't _explicitly_ authorize the sale of the item, then it was technically stolen (unless it remained the property of some other person/company by contract, like a prop rental house or something, and they sold it on).

Most stuff sold openly though is safe, even if it was originally obtained questionably. See Alec's comments about the Star Trek auction. Paramount could have come after _all_ of that if they wanted to, but they basically took a 'what's done is done, we aren't going to pursue it' attitude, which was way cool on their part. WB isn't so forgiving, especially with their big properties (Potter, Batman, etc). And from what I've heard, there is _VERY_ little in the way of Potter that is out there legally. A few stunt wands, a few pieces of wardrobe, and the background wand boxes that were given out at a premiere. Anything more significant than that, and you should be careful with it... You could buy Potter's wand from Radcliffe himself, and it still wouldn't mean WB couldn't come and take it away from you. You'd want to know that the studio TOLD him he could keep it, not that it was 'accidentally left in my pocket at the end of the day'.

Prop collecting can be a tricky world... There's a reason they are called 'Props'- they are the studio's property...
 
Everything I have that was screen used was also handled similarly, Jim. All of it actually is stuff from between the SS and POA. All but one set of things came from someone in the UK. I didnt pay enough to where I'd be crushed if it was fake or WB came after it as stolen but I did get COAs on some of it.
 
okay thanks, good response. so if I wanted to find out what the studio's policy is regarding their props, how would I go about that? Who do you contact and what would you say, carefully worded, to them so you wouldn't arouse supicion on their end?
 
See Alec's comments about the Star Trek auction. Paramount could have come after _all_ of that if they wanted to, but they basically took a 'what's done is done, we aren't going to pursue it' attitude, which was way cool on their part.

Hi Rik.

I usually don't comment on subjects I am not directly involved with stating what is fact or not, but felt it may add to the conversation if I did so here. My feelings are not directed towards you, only to the subject.

After speaking with various employees of multiple studios in the past, I have been told that when an item or items are deemed stolen, the proper steps are taken to address the theft. Reports are filed with studio security and many times, the Police. If any number of the stolen items appear publicly for sale (or privately), action is taken either by the studio, police, or both. Of course there is no 100% in these matters, but there is a general course of action taken.

I don't think it is fair for someone to accuse another of theft without proof. Making accusations based on hearsay, is not only irresponsible, it's wrong.

If Paramount had records of missing items and or filed Police reports about the so called "stolen Star Trek items" it makes no sense for them to not complete their investigation. Again, I am not speaking for Paramount as I do not know what was/is in their thought process, but it is illegal to sell and own documented stolen merchandise.

According to a bit of research I did, it should be noted that many of the Star Trek auction items Alec spoke of were previously purchased at public auction about ten years ago so it appears they were not obtained the way mentioned.
 
I think the key phrase is police report. There is no way I would surrender any piece blindly without it, as it is the only proof they can offer to ownership and loss.

Studio security has no authority and their report means nothing. California revoked the right to private police forces years ago that the Golden Age studios enjoyed and abused.

Theft and recovery are legal issues that need to be dealt with involving law enforcement and the courts. Even the Academy uses an outside litigator to make claims of illegal possession and use of the trademark.

Of course, this stance assumes you know the prop was legally sold or you can contest the claim; if you are holding something otherwise obtained, then the best thing to do is to surrender it to the rightful owner and seek restitution any way you can.
 
I think the key phrase is police report. There is no way I would surrender any piece blindly without it, as it is the only proof they can offer to ownership and loss.

Studio security has no authority and their report means nothing. California revoked the right to private police forces years ago that the Golden Age studios enjoyed and abused.

Theft and recovery are legal issues that need to be dealt with involving law enforcement and the courts. Even the Academy uses an outside litigator to make claims of illegal possession and use of the trademark.

Exactly Rick.

Any reports of theft made to or by Studio Security would be part of any Police investigation. So I disagree with you there. Though I do acknowledge what studios were doing during the Golden Age.

Thanks for the additional information :) .
 
Just writing what I know. And keep in mind, this isn't law enforcement necessarily, it's relationships with the auction houses and the studios. Take the R2D2 head from PiH a few years ago. Something supposedly thrown away by ILM at the time of filming and kept by an employee. If I remember correctly, PIH turned the item over to LucasFilm. I don't know what they showed to prove theft, but I kind of doubt the auction house will fight that hard. They turn the stuff over to the studio, and let the consignor and the studio deal with it...

Legality aside, is that something you want to deal with on a $5000+ prop?

And I wouldn't be surprised if WB _has_ filed a police reports for everything larger than a nail that they couldn't find after shooting Potter... :)

Any 'security report' of theft probably gets into an official police report of some kind, if the studio cares that much... But there's still the simple issue of having to deal with it. WB finds out you have a bunch of Potter props. They notify the police and the items are confiscated. Now you have to deal with going to court to try to prove you can legally own them. You might win, sure, but it think it would just be easier to keep your collection to yourself in some cases (because you migh loose)...
 
I know I'm a little late to this topic, but I just wanted to validate what David states below, about WB only officially releasing a limited amount of paper-based screen-used props from production. I was lucky enough to visit WB Studios last year where I was able to ask the onsite WB museum curator about what props were officially released and that was the exact response that I got. Only paper-based screen-used props were officially released to the public. However, that does not include props gifted to key actors. For example, I know Daniel Radcliff got a pair of glasses.

Alex


Jimmy,

The problem with Potter items is that Warner have only ever officially released a very limited amount of them from the production - mainly paper based. So, technically speaking, anything else isn't released and Warner may stop the sale of / try to take possession of 'non official' items if they hear about it. This has happened in the past but not in all cases. For the earlier films some items were rented to the production or given away for marketing purposes (I own a few such things) and they can be legally owned and sold.

Hope this helps a little.

Regards,

David
 
This also doesnt include a great amount of rental costumes, some of which sold and Propstore bought last year from the first movie, and other items that were rented for production prop wise.

Since the movie was a bit of a "leaky cauldron" to start scaring people with police reports is just a little bit hard to believe that every single thing was ever accounted for.

I will say though over the years I have seen a great many wands out there and frankly I just don't see them all being real. Especially from the final 3-4 films.
 
Here is a couple of examples

The Bonhams auction of famous costumes from Star Wars, Titanic, Harry Potter and others took place in London today with many fans turning out to collect their own piece of film memorabilia. The grey linen overcoat worn by Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) in â€Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban†was expected to sell for around £3,500, ultimately fetched a staggering £15,600 (30,082.61 U.S. dollars) by the auctions end. Also from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone†Madam Hooch’s (Zoe Wannamaker) navy linen cape was sold for £950 ($1,836.62) more than double its estimated auction potential.


I can't remember the same auction company near London that sold the rental stuff but they had Mrs Dursleys costumes from the first film and Mrs Weasleys outfit. I think they ended up splitting them up and selling bits seperately.
 
I've seen a couple Harry Potter Hogwarts invitations envelopes. Was thinking of buying one. This gives me pause.

I too have been trying to locate an original screen used Hogwarts envelope, but finding one with the proper provenance is tough! You should definitely be careful with these as they are very easy to fake. I'd be curious to compare notes with what you've found.

Alex


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
See Alec's comments about the Star Trek auction. Paramount could have come after _all_ of that if they wanted to, but they basically took a 'what's done is done, we aren't going to pursue it' attitude

Considering most of the stuff walked off the set by employees or studio execs THATS why that can of worms was never opened.
 
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