4. Warner Brothers Reduced A Fifteen Year Old Harry Potter Fan To Tears
Talk about magical. In 2000, during the lead-up to the release of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, Warner Brothers attempted to seize the domains of a number of prominent Harry Potter fan websites, claiming that in order to protect their copyright, the websites had to be shut down. This act in itself was enough to garner negative publicity, as it was seen as stifling fan communities and fan enthusiasm. But things got even worse when a teenager by the name of Claire Field was targeted. Claire ran a website called the Harry Potter Guide, which was basically just a fan site dedicated to the characters, locations and other various magical elements found in the Harry Potter book series. Upon receiving an intimidating letter from Warner Brothers, Claire's father reached out to a British newspaper, which detailed how young Claire was left in tears over the letter, and the insisted termination of her fan site. Media backlash was so prominent that Warner Brothers was forced to spare Claire's website, as well as changing its stance. Fan sites would be tolerated as long as they didn't claim to be official or affiliated with Warner Brothers' movies.