Was Warner Bros. Almost Sued Over Dobby's Alleged Resemblance To Vladimir Putin?
By Robert King
While it might be funny to imagine Vladimir Putin fuming about his resemblance to Dobby the house-elf (since they somewhat resemble one another), the rumors about him suing Warner Bros. appear unsubstantiated.
These rumors stem from reports that emerged in 2003, which stated that an unnamed Russian law firm was planning a lawsuit against Warner Bros. for the similarities between Dobby and Vladimir Putin. The reports claimed that a collection of Russian lawyers perpetuated the lawsuit and never specified Putin's involvement with the case. A 2003 report from The Guardian asserts that the story first popped up in a Russian newspaper and that a possible lawsuit was later discussed by a spokesman for the Russian lawyer's guild on Radio Free Europe. The report also reflected the online buzz generated by this rumor, with over 5,000 "Harry Potter" fans voting in a BBC poll regarding Putin's similarity to the balding, pointy-eared elf.
A second report from The New York Times clarified that no lawsuit was ever actually filed and that none of these supposedly aggrieved lawyers could be reached for comment — even after contacting the Russian newspaper that originally reported the story. Since nothing substantial ever came from these reports, it's worth assuming that they are nothing more than rumors, albeit highly amusing ones.
