Alohomora! Harry Potter-themed cafe told to unlock book of financial secrets

Owners of a Harry Potter-themed cafe in Mong Kok have been ordered by the High Court to reveal its revenue and compensate Warner Bros for infringing the copyright and trademark of the blockbuster franchise.

The US-based entertainment giant sued 9 Cafe, on Yin Chong Street, four years ago, saying the decorations at its entrance - including the trolley, owl and suitcase - imitated the 9 platform from the Potter films.

It said the restaurant used characters' names, places and spells without authorization.

High Court Judge David Lok Kai-hong yesterday ordered the cafe and its owners to immediately stop using any of the trademarked properties.

Lok ordered the owners to reveal the cafe's earnings and compensate Warner Bros, while allowing the media giant to apply for canceling the cafe's trademark.

All the listed defendants - DKAJ Ltd and its four directors, Kelvin Ching Kai-lim, Tsang Chiu-yeung, Wan Chin-yeung and Leung Chin-hei - were not in court.

The court heard that Tsang and Leung had settled the case out of court, without mentioning details.

The trial would have only focused on the company and two of the directors, Ching and Wan. Lok found that the trolleys in the movies and at the cafe's entrance did not look exactly the same.

But the plaintiff said the defendants had still plagiarized ideas as a half-submerged trolley in a wall is an iconic scene in the movies.

It also said the cafe had infringed several Hong Kong-registered trademarks that included "Harry Potter," "quidditch" and "muggles," alongside Chinese names like "The dementor's kiss" in the menus.

Tsang admitted the decorations were bought either from Warner Bros' Harry Potter Studio in Tokyo or from the mainland e-commerce site Taobao.

The cafe, meanwhile, still opened its doors to "muggles" - or non-magical people - yesterday and the trolley was still at the entrance. But visitors were reminded that the cafe is not "related to Warner Bros, Harry Potter, or JK Rowling."

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com