New Delhi:
The first 36 minutes of the yet to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1 has found its way on to dozens of BitTorrent websites.
The much-awaited film will release over the weekend, but only after many fans have already downloaded a copy of the extended preview online.
It is rare for a film to be searched before the release date and this 'preview' was spotted earlier in the day.
Though the watermarks of Warner Bros. and other screener features are present, there is consolation in the fact that the full version has not been released yet.
Whether it was intentionally released as a smart business strategy, or a serious copyright violation is yet to be deliberated, but this little 'accident' hasn't exactly hurt the film or it's release in any way.
Warner Bros. released the following statement in response to the leak: "This constitutes a serious breach of copyright violation and theft of Warner Bros. property. We are working actively to restrict and/or remove copies that may be available. Also, we are vigorously investigating this matter and will prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final book of the series by author JK Rowling and has been broken into two halves for its film adaptation.
In the previous years, the Harry Potter series has already been one of the most downloaded films and this has just escalated with the seventh film.
The much-awaited film will release over the weekend, but only after many fans have already downloaded a copy of the extended preview online.
It is rare for a film to be searched before the release date and this 'preview' was spotted earlier in the day.
Though the watermarks of Warner Bros. and other screener features are present, there is consolation in the fact that the full version has not been released yet.
Whether it was intentionally released as a smart business strategy, or a serious copyright violation is yet to be deliberated, but this little 'accident' hasn't exactly hurt the film or it's release in any way.
Warner Bros. released the following statement in response to the leak: "This constitutes a serious breach of copyright violation and theft of Warner Bros. property. We are working actively to restrict and/or remove copies that may be available. Also, we are vigorously investigating this matter and will prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final book of the series by author JK Rowling and has been broken into two halves for its film adaptation.
In the previous years, the Harry Potter series has already been one of the most downloaded films and this has just escalated with the seventh film.
