Available for comment, bummed the phone ain't ringing

FTFA: "Consumers will assume that the smaller and less famous Canadian band is trying to take advantage of the Harry Potter fame,"

Well, you're doing a good job of proving them wrong then. Glad to see you're taking the high road and not attention-whoring about it.

Seriously, the band is mentioned like twice in the entire series. Who will remember and make that association? GTFOOH.

Irony tag needed

"Consumers will assume that the smaller and less famous Canadian band is trying to take advantage of the Harry Potter fame,"

FTA

Yeah, good luck with that.

I think if your band has been at it for 15 years and still is going nowhere, it never will

Arbitrator: FTFA: "Consumers will assume that the smaller and less famous Canadian band is trying to take advantage of the Harry Potter fame,"

Well, you're doing a good job of proving them wrong then. Glad to see you're taking the high road and not attention-whoring about it.

Seriously, the band is mentioned like twice in the entire series. Who will remember and make that association? GTFOOH.

*eh hem* What he said.

Wow, are they gonna go after Terry Pratchett for his novel, Wyrd Sisters, also referencing MacBeth? Or are his pockets not deep enough?

If the name was completely original, and not based off a play in the public domain, there MIGHT be some justification here. But seriously... this sounds an awful lot like taking a long shot on cashing in on a settlement and trying to get some free publicity in the meantime.

The make-believe version is better.

Feh, good luck with that, sister. Some other unknown Canadian band has been trying the same thing with Chamber of Secrets because it has the same initials as their album Caress of Steel.


/ Geddy Lee looks more like JKR's description of Snape then Alan Rickman

All: The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! the charm's wound up.

[Enter MACBETH and BANQUO.]

I think it's pretty obvious that a two word name plagiarized from another work of fiction is not the possession of any one artist.

Wiki Weird Sisters (disambiguation) (new window)
I wonder why they haven't also tried to sue the Weird Sisters filk band.

Damn musical Canadians and their ability to access the court system while other Canadians get told by the lower court to go die in a fire for thinking that the courts are for regular people..

/And can I has a hundred million bucks for advertising for that ABC show?

Meh, if John Buechler doesn't worry about boy magicians named Harry Potter...
Link (new window)

biatch please!

Harry Potter books and movies are works of fiction. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. So take off, eh, you hosers!

In case you guys were worried, you can rest assured that anyone in Winnipeg would drive their car over these crazy hippies.

/if only anyone knew who they were.....

Block the games all you want. They suck and no one should be exposed to them.

These ladies are such douchebags!

They were struck down by a court when their lame litigation got bounced, and were ordered to pay the defendants' legal bills etc. That they are still trying to carry on litigation is absolutely retarded.

Retards.

/embarrassed they are Canadian

Just RTFA.

Good God, these ladies are such retards. Agh, it hurts.

maxx2112
Feh, good luck with that, sister. Some other unknown Canadian band has been trying the same thing with Chamber of Secrets because it has the same initials as their album Caress of Steel.

Next target: Church of Scientology

While we're at it, lets dig up Shakespeare and sue his ass to!

JJ Money 2008-03-02 09:25:15 PM Just RTFA. Good God, these ladies are such retards. Agh, it hurts.
============

Just like all the assholes from america that want to get them banned.

/and I hate Harry Potter! :)

swahnhennessy
2008-03-02 05:29:35 PM

Thank you so much for the Jarvis photo.

/My bunk. I'll be in it.

Now, these Wyrd Sisters
They want ro ban
Books like Rowling's Prisoner Of Azkaban
She said: "C'mon dudes! Just let me biatch!"
"And maybe I'll let you near my golden snitch!"
They're a Canadian band
They're a Canadian band
They're coming to your town
They'll put your kid's books down
They're a Canadian band

secularsage: Wow, are they gonna go after Terry Pratchett for his novel, Wyrd Sisters, also referencing MacBeth? Or are his pockets not deep enough?

Same thing I'd wondered. Then again, they'd probably end up having to pay him money for the name. After all, they didn't start singing until 1991 & Pratchett's novel was released in 1988.

Then again, they should be sued for coming up with what is essentially the most unoriginal name for a band, especially a folksy/mystical type band. I wonder if they actually looked for people who knew how to play or if they just looked for people who "looked" like they'd be a great lead singer or musician. Maybe I'm just being harsh, but they just seem like a group of posers to me.

Wow, can you say "delusions of grandeur"???

If "Weird Sisters" hadn't been in the Harry Potter books, who would she have found to sue? It's not like "weird sisters" is a really uncommon or unusual name or anything.

(Google search: 168,000, and the first 10 weren't even the Canadian band!)

Lawsuit docket (new window)

Oh, this oughta go over well... lose in Manitoba, refile something in Federal Court, and file a separate action in Ontario somehow referring to the action in Manitoba. Courts don't like forum shopping, and if the action in Federal Court is the exact same action they lost in Manitoba their case will be dismissed (unlike the US, the Federal Court in Canada has limited jurisdiction to certain federal acts and actions against the Crown in right of Canada - it cannot overrule any provincial court action or act as any sort of appeal court, as the superior and appeal courts of each province are actually federally appointed and appeal goes from there to the Supreme Court of Canada).

I'm an independent obscure musician with little to no fame outside my home city, and if somebody were to ever use my stage name in a completely different, yet famous, context, the first thing I'd say is "Well shoot, that sucks. Didn't they Google it?" The second thing I'd say is "Oh well, tough balls, I didn't copyright it".

I really wanted to sympathize with the Wyrd Sisters going into the article, but after reading it I'm switching sides. Their fight is a lame cash grab, especially (as pointed out by others in this thread) when they've stolen the name from Shakespeare in the first place. Lame.

leftymcrighty: I'm an independent obscure musician with little to no fame outside my home city, and if somebody were to ever use my stage name in a completely different, yet famous, context, the first thing I'd say is "Well shoot, that sucks. Didn't they Google it?" The second thing I'd say is "Oh well, tough balls, I didn't copyright it".

I really wanted to sympathize with the Wyrd Sisters going into the article, but after reading it I'm switching sides. Their fight is a lame cash grab, especially (as pointed out by others in this thread) when they've stolen the name from Shakespeare in the first place. Lame.


Yeah, I usually stick up for the little guy, but the establishment wins this one. They don't want to be associated with Harry Potter fame, but by biatching about it they are going to be associated with Harry Potter. I read and loved those books, and I have no memory of this band being mentioned. It is an insignifigant passing reference. Nobody probably would have remembered if they just would have kept their mouths shut.

leftymcrighty: lame cash grab

THIS

Survey says:

Wah. Like they're the only ones who've read Shakespeare.

And by the way girls, if you haven't hit it big yet, you never will.

RoboreR

While we're at it, lets dig up Shakespeare and sue his ass to!

I think he would be the one bringing the lawsuits in these cases.

leftymcrighty: I'm an independent obscure musician with little to no fame outside my home city, and if somebody were to ever use my stage name in a completely different, yet famous, context, the first thing I'd say is "Well shoot, that sucks. Didn't they Google it?" The second thing I'd say is "Oh well, tough balls, I didn't copyright it".

I really wanted to sympathize with the Wyrd Sisters going into the article, but after reading it I'm switching sides. Their fight is a lame cash grab, especially (as pointed out by others in this thread) when they've stolen the name from Shakespeare in the first place. Lame.

NOT copyright. Trademark.

And yes, the fact that it's taken from Shakespeare (and well known and highly referenced Shakespeare at that) makes it inconceivable that these ladies are going to win.

There is some serious hilarity value to their argument though:
Band: "People we're think we're ripping off Harry Potter."
Judge: "When actually you're ripping off Shakespeare?"
Band: "No, no no. We're 'referencing'. See, it's completely different."
Judge: "But if someone else references Shakespeare, they're not allowed?"
Band: "Of course not, we thought of it first."
Judge: "...."
Band: "Oh look over there judge, a puppy!

In defense of the band, they've been a bit of an institution here in Winnipeg for a very long time. I saw them perform probably 14 years ago. It's not my kind of music, but they have fans.

This being said, I think the law suit is kind of silly. I think it will only bring them more publicity, not less. They should give it up already.

secularsage: Wow, are they gonna go after Terry Pratchett for his novel, Wyrd Sisters, also referencing MacBeth? Or are his pockets not deep enough?

Exactly what I was thinking (just started Witches Abroad). At any rate, their attention whoring has worked. By keeping this suit alive, they've gotten themselves more publicity than they ever would have gotten as a crappy Canadian folk band.

+500 for swahnhennessy

These hags aren't even worthy of being mooned by Jarvis Cocker.

Actually, I hear Jarvis wanted to record a whole album as the Harry Potter band, but it's because of these talentless losers that it didn't happen. God, can you imagine a tour?