With J.K. Rowling having recently announced the title to her 7th and final book in her epic Harry Potter fantasy series as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, domain squatters flocked to the Internet in an effort to register domain names related to the title only to find them already bought. Squatters were beat to the punch by Rowling's literary agency, Christopher Little. The agency has already registered a number of domain names, including harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows.com and deathlyhallows.info.

A simple WHOIS search reveals that the various .com, .net, .org, .info and .co.uk versions of the domain name were all bought by the same agency. The date of purchase was right before the title of the seventh book was officially revealed. The extent of the domain buyout has even left deathlyhallows.com purchased. Most likely, this is all in an effort to discourage third parties to profit by association with the name.

Rowling’s publishers and Warner Brothers have been quick to act in defending copyrights associated with the Harry Potter insignia, and so any unapproved parties profiting from association with the Harry Potter name will most likely find themselves in quick legal trouble. Although no official release has been set for the seventh Harry Potter book, it is expected to go on sale before mid-2007.