Melbourne's Harry Potter Bar To Be Torn Down

The popular Harry Potter bar on the rooftop of The Imperial in Melbourne will be torn down after failing to get permission from Warner Bros.

After a three month run as one of the most popular rooftop bars in Melbourne, Vertic Alley’s Harry Potter bar has been issued with a cease and desist notice. The wizard-themed hang out has sat just a hundred metres away from the Princess Theatre since the Australian premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but it seems the bar’s owners didn’t exactly get permission from Warner Bros before opening…

A Little Bit Of Magic

The bar has been hit with locals and visitors alike, featuring a number of themed pods serving food and drinks inspired by J.K Rowling’s magical world. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the bar already, then it looks like you won’t get to try their famous Buttah Beer or enjoy some Friday night cocktails at Bourke Street Wands or the Imperial Owl Emporium.

Although we couldn’t get enough of the Harry Potter-inspired creations, it seems that Warner Bros was less than impressed. “Anything that is themed Harry Potter must have a legal contract with Warner Bros to ensure that Harry Potter intellectual property is managed correctly and all above board,” they said in a statement. “The pop up is clearly a knock-off from Diagon Alley and they were making money out of it.”

It seems that pub owners don’t intend to disappear without a fight, telling staff that the planned demolition of the pop-up had been ‘paused’, however removal works appear to be in progress.

Just what will happen to the wizard-themed pop-up remains to be seen, but it has definitely added a little bit of magic to the Melbourne skyline, even if only for a short time.

Do you think the Harry Potter themed bar should be forced to close? Let us know in the comments.

19 Comments

- - ChiWren said
  - 01 Dec 2023
    5:01 am
Seems like a no-brainer to get permission to use the intellectual property. Big business isn’t going to let you profit off their huge money makers.

- - mom81879 said
  - 16 Feb 2020
    12:49 pm
A bit sad for Harry Potter fans and the owners. But I guess everything has a best before date

- - tessie said
  - 03 Jul 2019
    11:58 am
It will be a shame if it does have to close down. I’m sure all the Harry Potter fans will be bitterly disappointed

- - mom129591 said
  - 02 Jul 2019
    6:59 pm
I’m sure some fans would be highly disappointed. These things can happen.

- - serotonin said
  - 06 Jun 2019
    12:13 pm
Oh dear. I guess they weren’t able to get a contract. Would probably be very expensive.

- - mom206279 said
  - 20 May 2019
    6:11 pm
Oh sad. Surely they could figure something out?

- - Mum2archer said
  - 19 May 2019
    10:22 pm
if they didn’t get permission to do it, then it seems fair, despite it being so popular

- - becstalou said
  - 19 May 2019
    9:29 am
Such a shame when it is so popular but probably not worth the legal fees to fight it.

- - mom93821 said
  - 19 May 2019
    7:50 am
It is a known fact when it comes to business and money and copyright that approval has to been given for using the brand name.

- - Ellen said
  - 19 May 2019
    7:47 am
Itr’s a lovely creative idea. Warner Bros could be a less rigid, in the end they could benefit from this.

- - mom265671 said
  - 18 May 2019
    11:30 pm
I’m surprised they didnt get approval before hand, they could’ve been sued

- - ashna9 said
  - 18 May 2019
    9:17 pm
What a shame. Warner Bros should give in to this one.

- - MrsA said
  - 18 May 2019
    8:39 pm
I would have loved to go but it is so hard with young kids.

- - BellaB said
  - 18 May 2019
    7:41 pm
It’s not exactly a secret that film and TV companies protect their copyrights. They can’t e surprised.
- mom93821 replied
  
  20 May 2019 , 6:26 am
  It does indeed appear they protect them with great rigour and with great vigilance.
- - Blossom said
  - 18 May 2019
    6:49 pm
I wonder what the result would be if the owners of the bar offer to pay good royalties to be allowed to keep it up.

- - Jmac said
  - 18 May 2019
    2:59 pm
What a pity! I didn’t even know that it was there. Although i don’t blame Warner Bros – i wish the owners had got permission first as it would have been a great addition to Melbourne

- - mom90758 said
  - 18 May 2019
    1:01 pm
Well, it was done illegally indeed. I don’t think they have a case on their side.

- - mom81879 said
  - 18 May 2019
    11:53 am
What do they expect if they did it all without permission?! People are way too worried about losing money to let others get away with this. The Harry Potter franchise is so huge, no way will they let go of someone making money from it and not passing any on to the creators