Hundreds of operators of Harry Potter fan sites as far away as Singapore and Germany have been sent letters from Warner Bros.' lawyers warning them to shut down their sites and turn over their domain names to the studio, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Thursday).

Before removing his site, Scotland-based Scott Allison posted this notice: "All I wanted to do was set up a site for fans of Harry Potter, like myself, and now I'm being attacked by a large corporation who know I don't have the financial means to defend myself."

Fifteen-year-old Claire Field sent a letter to the London Daily Mirror in which she remarked: "I cannot understand how a 15-year-old schoolgirl can pose such a threat to an international company, like Warner Brothers." A studio spokeswoman said that the company is considering giving the teenager a free license to continue her fan site.

Source: Studio Briefing