Legos and Duplos

[Nick Mitchell]

No: HPFGUIDX 5462

Hi All

>>The Lego-corporation did acquire merchandise-rights
>>for the HP-movie.

Just incase anyone wants full info on that... here is the press release.

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The LEGO Company Is Granted Global Harry Potter License

Alliance Announced with Warner Bros. Consumer Products for Worldwide
Marketing of Construction Toys Based on Harry Potter--


The LEGO Company, makers of the worlds best-selling construction toys,
today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Warner
Bros. Consumer Products to market Harry Potter construction toys worldwide.

The four-year agreement, which marks the third property licensed by the LEGO
Company, gives the company the right to produce and sell construction toys
based on the popular Harry Potter series that has cast a spell over children
everywhere.

The licensing agreement gives the LEGO Company exclusive rights to produce
construction toys based on the first two Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter
and the Sorcerers Stone, Warner Bros. Pictures adaptation of the first in
the best-selling series of Harry Potter books, to be directed by Chris
Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire), will hit theaters throughout
North America in November 2001.

The first sets in the new LEGO line will allow kids ages six to 12 to bring
to life the Harry Potter storyline and its characters. The 2001 toy line,
which will include nine sets based on the Harry Potter and the Sorcerers
Stone movie, is slated to be on store shelves prior to the films release.

Were delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Warner Bros.
Consumer Products, said Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, President and CEO of the
LEGO Company. "The fantasy world of Harry Potter mirrors the values of our
products and is a natural expansion of our imaginative worlds. In the Harry
Potter universe, everything is possible, and you never know what is going to
happen next. This is exactly what happens when kids play with LEGO products;
the only limit is their imagination, Kristiansen continued.

Harry Potter has captured the imagination of kids of all ages, and we are
committed to bringing Harry and his magical world to life through creative
products that will be an extension of the books and the upcoming film, said
Dan Romanelli, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products. The
imagination of childhood is often brought to life with LEGO products, and we
are confident that the magic of Harry Potter will sparkle with the
creativity of this industry leader.

J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter book series has been published in 115 countries
and in 28 languages with more than 30 million books in circulation
worldwide  over 18.4 million in the U.S. alone. The three Harry Potter
books have rocketed up and stayed on top of national best-seller lists. The
fourth book in a planned series of seven, Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire, was released Saturday, July 8.

Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products gained licensing and merchandising
rights for the Harry Potter series as part of an overall deal when Warner
Bros. Pictures signed with author J.K. Rowling. The deal includes
development of two films based on the first two books in the series.

###


LEGO Systems, Inc. (LSI) is the Americas (North America and Latin America)
division of the LEGO Company, a privately-held firm based in Billund,
Denmark. The LEGO Company employs more than 2,000 people in the Americas 
approximately one half of whom work at LSIs 203-acre headquarters in
Enfield, Connecticut. LSI manufactures more than 2.7 billion LEGO elements
each year. The LEGO Company is committed to the development of children's
creative and imaginative abilities, and its employees are guided by the
motto adopted in the 1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen: "Only the best
is good enough."

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a division of Warner Bros., a Time Warner
Entertainment Company, L.P., is one of the leading and most diversified
licensing and retail merchandising organizations, which includes a vast
library of intellectual properties and the Warner Bros. Studio Stores,
including wbstore.com, an e-commerce Web site. With over 3,700 licensees,
Warner Bros. Consumer Products licenses the rights to names, likenesses and
logos for a variety of entertainment properties, categories, and Warner
Bros. icons that include Looney Tunes, Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo, The
Wizard of Oz, Friends, ER, and its newest member, Harry Potter.


MEDIA CONTACTS:
LEGO Company
Katherine Lee
Tel: 860-763-6732
Pgr: 888-534-6561
Shannon Hartnett
Tel: 860-763-6758
Pgr: 888-534-6561
WB Consumer Products
Barry Ziehl
Tel: 818-954-6804
July 11, 2000

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Looks like it will be a while before we see the products though... I expect
Summer of 2001.

>You can all come visit me; I live 20 minutes south of Carlsbad, California,
>home to Legoland.

I thought Legoland (the real one) was in Denmark.
I live about 20 minutes south of Windsor, Berkshire, UK where Legoland UK
is.
I've been there once... about 2 years ago.


Nick
(the one with a large Lego collection in his loft)