Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Harry Potter Prints


Today I was contacted by Warner Bros. IP Counsel and was asked that no commercial use of my Harry Potter art is made.
While there is no objection for me to continue to display my work online, I may not sell or distribute it. So unfortunately I will not be providing prints.

During the discussion I brought up my attempt to send these covers to Bloomsbury and Scholastic to see if there is any interest in them being made into real covers.

I was assured by Warner Bros. that my request would be sent to the right people in each company. So fingers crossed that someday something cool could happen with them.

Thanks everyone for your support and overwhelming interest in this project.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Luck, Seamus!

jonna said...

Bummer about the prints! It would be a downright shame for them to pass these up.

Andy Schultz said...

Is there any chance you could release hi-res versions so that we could create our own prints?

I'd love to have a set of books with these as the covers. I hope one of the two takes you up on the offer!

M. S. Corley said...

Unfortunately no, that would conflict with what was discussed with Warner Bros.

Sorry.

But hopefully you'll get actual books someday!

Anonymous said...

That's a shame, I really love these. Just wondering, why Warner Bros? What sort of rights do they own?

VirginiaWestfield said...

It's certainly a shame. Not totally surprising. I guess it is flattering that your covers caused enough buzz that they took notice. Your covers are amazing. So amazing compared to the actual ones that whoever picked them might not have the taste to choose yours. That's my fear, anyway. Keep up the good work.

Pharaoh said...

These are really nice. They get to the point of the books.

corqsan_photo said...

Great great work! Got me all open mouth as I look to your designs!

Unknown said...

Would it be conflicting if we printed our own prints from the pictures you already have provided? Or no?

M. S. Corley said...

The images are all over the internet at this point, so I can't control what people do with them.

But I was asked that no prints be made, so I would not encourage printing them.

Janey said...

big bummer, but promote it a lot, I bet something COOL will happen! maybe WB is following you now.. you'll never know :)

keep up the good work!

Ms Avery said...

That's too bad! I would have loved a print of these... it'd be so cool if they do get used though!

Aaron Walser said...

Mr. Corley. May I suggest you also send these images to Mrs. Rowling herself.

M. S. Corley said...

I have sent them, to the only address I could find of hers. Hopefully they will actually get to her...

I've done all I can do.

Chelsea said...

I wonder, though, whether WB has the right to not have you print them -- I'd check into fair use laws if you're interested in pursuing it. (The recent case regarding Shepherd Fairey is what got me thinking about this.) I would think that your designs are "transformative" as the law requires. I for one would love to have this printed.

cat said...

be entertained

Little Gray Pixel said...

Something doesn't smell right about their "request." But I understand not wanting to pursue it further -- legal grounds can be rocky.

M. S. Corley said...

Yeah, I don't know much about legal things, and I figured battling it wasn't worth the effort if I was just make a few prints.

Anonymous said...

It is fortunate that they were willing to enter into discussion... in most copyright cases, usually a "cease and desist" notice is issued without any discussion considered.

Hopefully that is a sign that your work has been seen to be of high quality and of the finest flattery.

well done!

Anonymous said...

good luck!! i really love these so much.

mick statham said...

Yep, that's sucky but to be expected I suppose. You could produce them without the text but then the context would be lost, eh? Ther realy are great images though. I'd buy these books just to have them on my shelf. Great work.

Christine said...

SO much better than the "adult" covers they have out. I hope something does happen with them. May great art prevail!

Anonymous said...

These covers gave me goosebumps. I really hope someone picks them up. :)

elise said...

Oh man, Good luck! These are amazing. As a true Harry Potter fan, I would snatch these up in an instant!

Anonymous said...

These are amazing! I wish something happens and they get made into books; I would buy the whole set again.

Red Paper Doll said...

it's so sad you can't print these! i found them accidently, what a happy accident! I've put a link on my blog, hope that's ok! just gorgeous x

Unknown said...

These are truly awesome. I would buy these just for the covers if made into real books :)

natekitch said...

these are so brilliant, heads and shoulders above the covers the publishers ran with.
just shows how sometimes the best work doesn't get a word in, i really love these prints

Unknown said...

these covers are really good, you can see who has really read the books, managing the images and colors are great I love them. I think it's a great addition for those studying communication and / or graphic design. They clearly graphic material must be published. I loved it, great job.

Andrew said...

i constantly revisit this page just to admire the great art of these covers! wishing you great success and always hopeful something will transpire of these... much love and best wishes xxx

pamola williams said...

I really don't understand that do you really use commercially Harry Potter art. I would like to know more about this matter.
payday loans direct

pamola williams said...

Prints of all Harry Potter films are really good. I have seen all the part of harry potter Movie and I like the print.
fast loan

Unknown said...

Oh, how I wish these were real! My heart started pounding at book 7 cover like it did the moment I opened it to read it the first time.

M. S. Corley said...

Aw thanks! I wish they were real too

Kate said...

I would imagine you can sell prints of the images, just not of the words. Harry Potter fans would understand the images and you'd probably have a huge hit.

You are totally within your rights to be inspired by literature to create art. Do you have an intellectual property lawyer?

M. S. Corley said...

I don't have an intellectual property lawyer.

I could probably sell them without the words, but it kinda loses the point of what I was doing if I remove the words so was never interested in that.

Brooke said...

I seriously hope something happens with these! They're some of my favorite HP covers and they don't even exist in real life. Your art is incredible and deserves to be on the fronts of the Harry Potter books!!