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[Oersted]

Hollywood Reporter has the story:

In an $80 million lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the Tolkien estate and its book publisher HarperCollins claim that Warner Bros., its New Line subsidiary and Rings/Hobbit rightsholder Saul Zaentz Co. have infringed the copyright in the famous books and breached a contract. The crux of the suit is the estate's contention that a decades-old rights agreement entitles the studio to create only "tangible" merchandise based on the books, not an "online slot machine" or other digital exploitations that the estate calls highly offensive.

The estate lists several categories of goods but is especially peeved about new gambling games developed with story elements from Lord of the Rings. "Not only does the production of gambling games patently exceed the scope of defendants' rights, but this infringing conduct has outraged Tolkien's devoted fan base, causing irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy and reputation and the valuable goodwill generated by his works."

Read the full lawsuit here.

 

[pieatorium]

One does not simply wlak into Vegas.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

You know, they have every right to not like what New Line is doing to their grandfather's work. Hell, they have a completely different and unique understanding of the material.

But you can't just sue because you don't like something.

 

[Weenerz]

The estate sounds like a bunch of crybabies.

 

[Osiris]

You know, they have every right to not like what New Line is doing to their grandfather's work. Hell, they have a completely different and unique understanding of the material.

But you can't just sue because you don't like something.

No, but you can rightfully sue if contract rights are breached.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

You know, they have every right to not like what New Line is doing to their grandfather's work. Hell, they have a completely different and unique understanding of the material.

But you can't just sue because you don't like something.

Sure you can. It doesn't guarantee victory, though.

 

[legend166]

I'm with the Tolkien family here. Poker machines? Talk about tacky and distasteful.

 

[Squidofman]

note this also includes video games, namely download-only titles for platforms like iOS.

 

[Oersted]

You know, they have every right to not like what New Line is doing to their grandfather's work. Hell, they have a completely different and unique understanding of the material.

But you can't just sue because you don't like something.

You can sue if you didn´t granted the rights for digital exploitations, which seems likely, because the settlement is from 1969. And you can demand some money if you think their act hurted your IP.

Thats the case here.

 

[Htown]

I think the Tolkien Estate has a point.

According to them, the merchandising agreement was only for WB's production of tangible, physical products that they would sell to customers, not a license to use LOTR as an IP to pretty up slot machines.

The only problem I have with the suit is that they also say that LOTR-based "Downloadable Games" are also not covered by the merchandising agreement. They specifically mention digital-only games that run in a browser or on a tablet. The only thing I'm afraid of is whether or not things like Lord of the Rings Online or War in the North would be part of the suit, since they are also sold digitally. Maybe the fact that they were also boxed products at some point makes them safe.

The funny thing is that this lawsuit might not have happened in the first place, but WB apparently sent out a bunch of spam emails advertising the LOTR online slots, one of accidentally made its way to someone who worked for the Tolkien estate. Oops.

 

[Oppo]

As if the Bakshi film hadn't already thoroughly debased the "brand".

LoTR was super huge in the 70s as well, I'm sure there were all manner of things like this. Sure it's crass but that horse is long gone.

 

[Toth]

I saw this huge LotR gambling machine at an Inidian casino a few years back. You win points (and money) and the more you play, the more you 'move' along the movie storyline, unlocking videos and stuff. It was a very well done game at least.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could,
and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox

Definitely pushing what is acceptable, but seriously, $80 mil is a bit much. It does annoy me to see shit like this and Lego Lord of the Rings, though.
It's like the Nintendo stuff crammed itno Tekken Tag Wii U edition - it's taking something great and diluting it in the worst way possible.

 

[grandjedi6]

I think the Tolkien Estate has a point.

According to them, the merchandising agreement was only for WB's production of tangible, physical products that they would sell to customers, not a license to use LOTR as an IP to pretty up slot machines.

The only problem I have with the suit is that they also say that LOTR-based "Downloadable Games" are also not covered by the merchandising agreement. They specifically mention digital-only games that run in a browser or on a tablet. The only thing I'm afraid of is whether or not things like Lord of the Rings Online or War in the North would be part of the suit, since they are also sold digitally. Maybe the fact that they were also boxed products at some point makes them safe.

The funny thing is that this lawsuit might not have happened in the first place, but WB apparently sent out a bunch of spam emails advertising the LOTR online slots, one of accidentally made its way to someone who worked for the Tolkien estate. Oops.

They go out of the their way in the language to avoid calling on either of those games or any more traditional console game at all. In fact, they use the language "downloadable-only" several times. I'd imagine that the boxed copies or both Online and War in the North are protecting these titles from this lawsuit, similar to how they aren't objecting to the digital versions of the LotR films.

 

[Schobeleth]

....They do know that there's Hobbit branded/styled food at Denny's across the USA?

 

[Htown]

....They do know that there's Hobbit branded/styled food at Denny's across the USA?

Probably?

You do know that this is about an alleged breach in a contract regarding merchandising rights, right?

 

[Schobeleth]

Probably?

You do know that this is about an alleged breach in a contract regarding merchandising rights, right?

Well yeah but it's silly because they find the slot machines highly offensive. Meanwhile I can go get my Gandalf's Gobble Melt at Denny's, alongside a plate of Radagast's Red Pancake Puppies. OH I LOVE THOSE RED PANCAKE PUPPIES