Harry Potter

AS the weekend’s Potter mania escalated I found myself wondering if the creator of the bespectacled wizard had any direct involvement in arrangements for the “release” of her latest book, or whether it was entirely in the hands of hype-generating publicists.

I’m sure J K Rowling – through her agents and publisher – has a small army of people to protect the intellectual copyright to the Harry Potter phenomenon.

And so she should.

Hers was a clever idea, developed well and delivered faultlessly in a way that has netted many millions of pounds. In short, a job well done.

Some of the stories which emerged in the build up to last Saturday’s publication of the final Potter novel belong firmly in the too good to be true category. My favourite was that staff in one print centre were being made to work in subdued lighting so that they could not read the books passing before their squinting eyes.

Extreme measure maybe (by the publicists perhaps?) but nobody should be criticised for seeking to protect their own copyright and intellectual property.

The release of the last Potter book was preceded by the launch of the latest Hogwarts film. It may be some time before the official DVD is available in the shops, but what’s the betting bootleg versions are in circulation already?

Piracy, counterfeiting or theft – call it what you like, it’s damaging to businesses of every size.

All the more surprising then to read a survey published yesterday which indicates UK consumers are happy to own fakes

The amount of fake luxury goods has grown as shoppers in the UK find it increasingly acceptable to own them.
Two-thirds of consumers, up 20% on 2006, are happy to own fake clothing, footwear, watches and other items.
The Counterfeiting Luxury study, from a law firm, quizzed 2,000 people and warned the "social acceptability of fake goods is a deeply concerning shift in consumer behaviour".
It called for UK action to tackle the fakes "head on"

Depressing reading? Yes I think so because – not least because of the shift in consumer behaviour the report’s authors refer to. It’s also a pretty damming indictment of our consumer-obsessed, modern society.

Imitation may not always be the sincerest form of flattery.