Warner Bros. does not get the register of quote from the Harry Potter series

United States Patent and Trademark Office – USPTO rejected the trademark application for the quote “I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good”, from Warner Bros., according to the website The Blast. The quote, which when spoken, reveals The Marauder’s Map, was said for the first time in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

When applying the registration application, Warner Bros. was looking for exclusivity to use the quote in commercial products, having, then, the right to sue anyone who tried to commercially use the sentence without permission. However, the Office alleged that this register is not applicable, as the Harry Potter films are based on J.K. Rowling’s books and, when granting a register to Warner Bros., they would be establishing a connection with the writer in a false manner.

Also, according to the Office, the quote is just a slogan and, thus, a trademark registration is not applicable. They affirm that the sentence was recognized as “one of the most famous quotes in the Harry Potter universe” and, therefore, the consumers are used to see this expression in everyday speaking. An association of it with Warner Bros. products would be, then, impracticable.

Translated into English by Caroline Dorigon
Edited by Aline Michel