TOLKIEN & WARNER'S MAKE UP
Posted: 010918

Warner Bros. Pictures and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien have resolved a rights dispute involving the adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The basis of the dispute was over the “digital exploitation” in online slot machines and other games of the various fantasy characters from the films. The Tolkien estate and publisher HarperCollins claimed Warners never had the rights to license characters for such purposes and launched an $80 million lawsuit. Warners then countersued claiming the estate cost it ‘millions of dollars in license fees’ from merchandising when it filed the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed but both parties were happy and paid their own court costs.