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Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2001 08:38:33 -0700
From: Chip Hayes <jwhayes@attglobal.net>
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Subject: Re: OT Harry Potter IF
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Neils wrote:
> people can write
> unauthorized biographies about celebrities or anyone for that matter...
>

Just because they can and do write about actual people doesn't mean they
aren't subject to lawsuits.  Libel, while difficult to prove, is always
a threat to any author writing about a real-life character.

The E&O (errors and ommissions) premiums for insurance policies against
lawsuits in  movies and television shows that depict real-life
characters can be hefty and sometimes prohibitive, depending on the subject.

> Why can't someone write the unauthorized biography of Harry Potter?

Please let's not let this spiral downward into another <ACK! GO AWAY!>
copyright thread.  Suffice it to say that the characters are owned by
someone else, and you cannot use them, for profit or not, without permission.

Come up with your own school for wizards (that's not an original idea
after all... the Enchanter series touched on it in fact) and a different
enough set of characters and locations, and see if you can still make an
entertaining game.

Chip Hayes
