The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Aug 15, 2019 gambling lord of the rings wiki implement every time I play on an online casino where you play with your real money first when claiming gambling lord of the rings wiki a bonus. The goal of this strategy is to win a huge amount of money before you reach your bonus amount, cancel the bonus gambling lord of the rings wiki and walk away with your winnings. Game description: In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, you can travel in the wake of the Fellowship while exploring your own path and periodically intersecting the major events of the film trilogy. Through both familiar and new locations, you must fight to save or destroy Middle-earth in an epic adventure.
The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright for most of his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the estate to subsidiary entities such as the J. R. R. Tolkien Discretionary Settlement and the Tolkien charitable trust. The various holdings of the Tolkien family, including the estate, have been organized under The Tolkien Company, the directors of which are Christopher Tolkien (till August 2017), his wife Baillie Tolkien, and J. R. R. Tolkien's grandson Michael George Tolkien. The executors of the estate proper are Christopher Tolkien, who is sole literary executor, and (succeeding J. R. R. Tolkien's lawyer Frank Williamson) Cathleen Blackburn of Maier Blackburn,[1] who has also been the estate's solicitor for many years.
The lawsuits below refer to an entity entitled Fourth Age, Ltd. which was formed in November 2011. Although court records do not reflect this, according to UK corporate records Fourth Age, Ltd. changed its name on 21 February 2013 to Tolkien Estate, Ltd. Its directors include Tolkien family members Baillie Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, Priscilla Tolkien, Simon Tolkien and Michael George Tolkien, as well as the Tolkien Estate attorney, Steven Andrew Maier.[2]
- 2Legal issues
Rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings[edit]
Exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were sold by Tolkien himself to United Artists in 1969 and are currently owned by Middle-earth Enterprises (formerly Tolkien Enterprises), inc., a company controlled by Saul Zaentz until his death in 2014.[3]
United Artists is reported to have paid Tolkien just over £100,000.[4] Although it is often repeated that Tolkien sold the rights for a 'pittance' in order to pay a tax bill,[4][5] the sum he was paid was approximately equivalent to £1,377,000 to £3,842,000 in 2015 and in addition to it he retained a 7.5% royalty interest in any future adaptation (transmitted to the Tolkien Estate on his death).[6]
In 1976 United Artists sold most of their rights to Tolkien's work to Saul Zaentz Company, who have licensed all subsequent authorized adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings through Middle-earth Enterprises. However United Artists retains the world distribution rights to film adaptations. These are currently exercised by their parent company MGM, which under contract co-financed The Hobbit film trilogy.[7]
Legal issues[edit]
Film royalties[edit]
In February 2008, the Tolkien Trust sued New Line Cinema, the studio behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy, for £75 million claiming they had not received 'even one penny' from the films.[8] A request for punitive damages was denied in September 2008.[9] (In March 2008, New Line Cinema became a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment.) The case was resolved out of court on 8 September 2009 with the terms not made public.
In a press release, Christopher Tolkien stated, 'The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of 'The Hobbit.'[10]
Gambling devices[edit]
In November 2012 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Fourth Age Limited, the Trustees of the Tolkien Trust, and publishers Harper Collins Publishers, Ltd., Unwyn Hyman, Ltd. and George Allen and Unwin (Publishers) Ltd. sued Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Inc., a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc.; Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. as successor-in-interest to New Line Cinema Corp.; Warner Brothers Consumer Products, Inc.; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Inc.; New Line Productions, Inc.; and the Saul Zaentz Company, doing business as Middle-earth Enterprises, alleging copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief, arguing that the defendants exceeded the scope of their rights.[11]
The suit alleges that by producing gambling and video games using his characters, the parties ignored the limitations of the rights purchased more than four decades ago in 1969; contending the original licence to Tolkien's works was limited to the right to sell 'tangible' products such as 'figurines, tableware, stationery items, clothing, and the like', but did not cover 'electronic or digital rights, rights in media yet to be devised or other intangibles such as rights in services'.[12] Tolkien's estate claimed that the defendants actions had caused 'irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy'.
On 11 March 2013 the Saul Zaentz Co. (doing business as Middle Earth Enterprises), the rightsholder for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit properties, filed an amended counterclaim against Fourth Age for declaratory relief, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and quantum meruit. On the same day, the Warner Parties filed an amended counterclaim against Fourth Age for breach of contract and declaratory relief.[11][13]
The Tolkien Estate et al. attempted to block these countersuits under California's anti-SLAPP statute, claiming that Warner Brothers was interfering with their right to petition under the First Amendment to the US Constitution. On 11 July 2013 US District Judge Audrey Collins denied a motion to dismiss, saying what Warner Brothers was doing was making 'disguised claims for malicious prosecution' and wrote 'these claims arise out of the parties' divergent understanding of the Warner Parties' and Zaentz's rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. They are routine contract-based claims and counterclaims.' In October 2015 the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling.[14]
The lawsuit was confidentially settled in July 2017.[15]
Television series[edit]
On 13 November 2017 it was announced that Amazon had acquired the global television rights to The Lord of the Rings, committing to a multi-season television series. The series will not be a direct adaptation of the books, but will instead introduce new stories that are set before The Fellowship of the Ring.[16] Amazon said the deal included potential for spin-off series as well.[17] The press release referred to 'previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings'. Amazon will be the producer in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and The Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema.[18]
Christopher Tolkien's resignation[edit]
On 15 November 2017, at age 93, Christopher Reuel Tolkien announced his resignation as director from the Tolkien estate as well as the Tolkien trust, while remaining as the literary executor. According to Companies House, he stood down from the position on 31 August 2017.[19]
References[edit]
- ^'cathleen blackburn'. maier blackburn. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/07/16/75725-making-sense-of-the-latest-tolkien-lawsuit/ - Making Sense of the latest Tokien Lawsuit - 16 July 2013
- ^http://www.middleearth.com
- ^ ab'Focus: Tolkien sold film rights to Lord of the Rings to avoid taxman'. The Times 15 December 2002 (retrieved 2018-05-23).
- ^'Tolkien sold film rights for £10,000'. Evening Standard 7 December 2001 (retrieved 2018-05-24).
- ^Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds (retrieved 2018-05-24).
- ^http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/United_Artists
- ^'JRR Tolkien's estate to sue Lord of the Rings filmmakers New Line Cinema over profits'. The Telegraph 17 February 2008.
- ^http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7637693.stm - No punitive damages in Rings case - 26 September 2008.
- ^http://screenrant.com/the-hobbit-lord-of-the-rings-lawsuit-settled-ross-24883/ - Great News For The Hobbit: LOTR Lawsuit Finally Settled - 9 September 2009
- ^ abhttps://www.scribd.com/document/153237062/Tolkien-Order - Fourth Age Limited et al. v. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution Inc et al.
- ^'Tolkien estate sues Hobbit producers over video and gambling games'. The Guardian. 20 November 2012.
- ^https://www.scribd.com/document/123187959/Rings-counterclaims - Case 2:12-cv-09912-ABC-SH Document 21 Filed 01/18/13
- ^http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/warner-bros-can-sue-tolkien-835296 - Warner Bros. Can Sue Tolkien Estate For Breaching 'Hobbit' Contract - 28 October 2015
- ^J.R.R. Tolkien's estate and Warner Bros settle Hobbit and Lord of the Rings lawsuitThe Telegraph
- ^'Amazon will run a multi-season Lord of the Rings prequel TV series'. Ars Technica. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017.
- ^'Amazon announces 'Lord of the Rings' TV show'. CNN. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017.
- ^https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/arts/television/lord-of-the-rings-series-amazon.html
- ^'Christopher Tolkien resigns as Tolkien estate director'. Tolkien Society. 15 November 2017.
External links[edit]
- Official website
Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a trading name for a division of The Saul Zaentz Company, located in Berkeley, California. The company owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's two most famous literary works: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. These elements include the titles of the works, the names of characters contained within as well as the names of places, objects and events within them, and certain short phrases and sayings from the works.[1]
- 1Background and history
Background and history[edit]
J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sold the film, stage and merchandising rights of those works to United Artists in 1968, who in turn sold them to The Saul Zaentz Company in 1976, which licenses them through the former Tolkien Enterprises, now Middle-earth Enterprises.[2] United Artists retained distribution rights.[3]
In 1977, Rankin/Bass licensed the rights to produce an animated version of The Hobbit, which was broadcast on NBC. In 1978, Tolkien Enterprises and the distributor United Artists funded and released an animated version of The Lord of the Rings directed by Ralph Bakshi, which covered approximately the first half of the Lord of the Rings.[3]
In 1999, the company severed their licensing agreement with Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) for role-playing games set in Middle-earth after ICE ceased developing new products for this line. This contributed to ICE filing for bankruptcy in 2001. Tolkien Enterprises then made a new licensing agreement with Decipher Inc. for their Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, which published content from 2002–2006.
Initially, Miramax was backing the production of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films in 1997, but was restricted by then-owner Disney, who demanded that they turn the story into one film instead of two films, thus Jackson brought the project to New Line Cinema, who acquired the rights to develop The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from Miramax for about $12 million. (Miramax retained a 5% stake in the gross.)[3] Principal photography for Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was conducted concurrently in New Zealand from 11 October 1999 through to 22 December 2000. Produced under license from Tolkien Enterprises and released by New Line between 2001 and 2003, the films met critical and commercial success. However, in August 2004, Tolkien Enterprises sued New Line for $20 million in unpaid royalties based on the difference between gross and net profits. An out-of-court settlement was reached in August 2005, though details were not released.
Video game rights to Tolkien's literary works were first licensed to Vivendi, which produced The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002 and The Hobbit in 2003. At around the same time licensing agreements for products relating to the films produced by Peter Jackson were obtained by Electronic Arts (EA), leading to the release of a series of games, starting with The Two Towers in 2002. In 2005, EA acquired the rights to produce games based on the literary works as well,[4] producing further titles up to the release of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest in 2009, when the licensing agreement expired.[5] Video game rights then passed to Warner Brothers.[6]
In 2010, the name was changed to Middle-earth Enterprises.[1]
Wikipedia Lord Of The Rings
In 2011, Cubicle 7 produced The One Ring Roleplaying Game, a licensed role-playing game set in Middle-earth, in collaboration with Sophisticated Games. While the game featured its own unique rules, Cubicle 7 announced on March 14, 2016, that it would create an adaptation using tabletop gaming rules compatible with Dungeons & Dragons.[7]
Legal disputes[edit]
In March 2012, it was reported in various news services that The Hobbit, a public house in Southampton, UK, had been served with papers by Middle-earth Enterprises outlining breach of copyright over the name of the pub.[8][9] The Hungry Hobbit café, located in Birmingham near where J. R. R. Tolkien grew up, was also threatened with legal action in 2011.[10]
In November 2012, the Tolkien Estate, trustee and publishers sued Middle-earth Enterprises (in addition to Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema) for infringing Tolkien's copyrights by producing casino and video games using his characters. The original license to Tolkien's works was limited to the right to sell 'tangible' products such as 'figurines, tableware, stationery items, clothing, and the like', but did not cover 'electronic or digital rights, rights in media yet to be devised or other intangibles such as rights in services'.[11] Tolkien's estate claimed that the defendants' actions had caused 'irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy'.
Licences[edit]
As of April 2009, the company's current licensees are as follows.
- Adaptations:
- New Line Cinema – Film rights.
- Kevin Wallace Ltd for a stage production of The Lord of the Rings.
- Games
- Video games:
- Up to 2009 Electronic Arts – for games based on both books in addition to an official film trilogy license from New Line Cinema.
- Post 2009 Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Turbine, Inc. for an online role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings Online – up to 2014[12]
- Other games:
- Decipher Inc. for the trading card (TCG) and roleplaying games.
- Games Workshop PLC for a range of miniatures, games (The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game and Battle of Five Armies) and Battle Games in Middle-earth magazine.
- Game Systems International Ltd. (Games Systems Inc.) for Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail released by Game Systems Inc. and the One Ring module of Legends (PBM) released by Harlequin Games.
- Sophisticated Games for a range of board games.
- Mithril Miniatures for a range of 28 mm scale metal miniatures.
- US Games Systems Inc. – a Lord of the rings based Tarot card deck and game.
- Video games:
- Collectibles:
- Danbury Mint for a variety of related merchandise such as film cells, watches and goblets.
- Royal Selangor International for a range of pewter goblets, tankards and chess pieces.
- Toys:
- Lego acquired a license to produce a range of sets in relation to the film series The Hobbit and released their first sets in 2011.
See also[edit]
- Tolkien Estate, hereditary owners of the copyrights to Tolkien's works.
- Category:Works based on Middle-earth, containing adaptions of Tolkien's works on Middle-earth.
- Middle-earth in video games, a history of video and computer game adaptions, both licensed and unlicensed.
References[edit]
- ^ ab'About'. Middle-earth Enterprises. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
- ^Dotinga, William (26 November 2012). 'Tolkiens Aghast at Warner Bros.' Exploitation'. Courthouse News. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ abcQuinn, Karl (14 December 2013). 'Lord of the Rings a chronicle of legal disputes'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^Ea Granted Rights to Develop the Lord of the Rings Games Based on J. R. R. Tolkien'S Epic Literary Fiction, 25 July 2005, EA press releasegamershell.com
- ^IncGamers: Tolkien IP License, 23 February 2009incgamers.com
- ^Lord of the Rings game rights now at Warner BrosArchived 15 April 2009 at the Wayback Machineweblogs.variety.com
- ^[1]'cubicle7.co.uk D&D comes to Middle-Earth, 14, March 2016, Cubicle 7 press release'
- ^'Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action'. BBC News. 13 March 2012.
- ^Brooks, Xan (14 March 2012). 'Stephen Fry joins The Hobbit pub's fight with Hollywood'. The Guardian.
- ^'Hungry Hobbit café told to change name'. BBC News. 21 November 2011.
- ^'Tolkien estate sues Hobbit producers over video and gambling games'. The Guardian. 20 November 2012.
- ^TURBINE AND TOLKIEN ENTERPRISES EXTEND RELATIONSHIPArchived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machineturbine.com