Warner
Bros. said it’s investigating the leak of a portion of the new “Harry Potter”
film on Internet file-sharing sites ahead of the movie’s Nov. 19 premiere.
“This
constitutes a serious breach of copyright violation and theft of Warner Bros.
property,” the film studio, owned by New York-based Time Warner Inc.,
said in an e-mailed statement today. “We are vigorously investigating this
matter and will prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law.”
The
first 36 minutes of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” were made
available for download on sites such as BitTorrent this week, according to TorrentFreak, a blog that follows file-sharing
news. Warner Bros. said it is working to restrict and remove the stolen and
illegal copies on the Web.
The
“Harry Potter” franchise has brought in $5.42 billion in worldwide ticket sales
from the first six movies, according to Box Office Mojo, a research firm based
in Sherman Oaks, California.
Film studios have urged the government to step up the fight against piracy,
which Hollywood executives say costs the U.S. economy more than $20 billion
a year. In June, the U.S.
government seized nine websites that allegedly traffic in illegal movie
downloads.
The
latest installment of “Harry Potter,” the first of a two-part finale, is scheduled
to premiere in U.S.
theaters in two days. The final movie will be released July 15, 2011.
Time Warner
rose 2 cents to $30.56 at 11:55 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
The shares had gained 4.8 percent this year before today.
Related Videos
