2 ms·

Also, why is Tolkien's estate seemingly twiddling its thumbs while all these companies use its intellectual property? Or does the estate get licensing fees?

• xenospn 10mo ago
  They have no claim, unless you create another literary character or something in the likeness of the original character. Naming a company after a fictional character is not an issue.
  • triceratops 10mo ago
    I didn't know that and I find it surprising.
  • ssl-3 10mo ago
    Sort of. Fictional character names are just words... unless these words are used in trade, at which point they become trademarks. And in this context: "Sauron" is a registered trademark. https://trademarks.justia.com/772/04/sauron-77204394.html https://trademarks.justia.com/772/04/sauron-77204394.html This status doesn't necessarily give the owner absolute control of the mark, but it can limit the ways in which others use it in trade. Things would be this way whether "Sauron" was ever the name of a fictional character or not. The use as a character name by the trademark owner neither implicitly enhances nor diminishes the trademark's integrity.
• ohjeez 10mo ago
  ...and geez haven't these people read any other books?!