Copyright Laws Play a Role in The Hobbit Movie
New Line Cinema Settles With Tolkien Family
Sep 9, 2009
In February of 2008, the heirs of JRR Tolkien sued New Line Cinema, the movie studio that produced the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Thanks to the power of copyright laws, the trust was able to use its copyright as a negotiation factor.
Copyright Law Protects The Hobbit
According to the Web site The Hobbit Movie, the Tolkien Trust was established in 1977 to manage Tolkien’s estate and future profits from the author’s works. As a registered British charity, the trust sold rights to New Line Cinema for The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
When the trust failed to see the expected royalties from the “Lord of the Rings” movies, it joined HarperCollins in a lawsuit against New Line Cinema. Because the lawsuit sited a breach of contract for the rights sold to the movie company, the trust was able to petition the courts to rescind the agreement allowing the company to produce The Hobbit movie.
Copyright Encompasses All Novels by Tolkien
Like US Copyright laws, British copyright laws protect literary works for the life of the author and for seventy years following the author’s death. In the case of J.R.R. Tolkien, the copyright covers all published work by the author including the following stories:
- Farmer Giles of Ham
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
- Smith of Wootten Major
- The Silmarillion, posthumous publications
- The Letters of JRR Tolkien, posthumous publications
Copyright law isn’t just for authors like Tolkien. The same laws apply to any author who publishes a novel, provided the writer or publisher files a copyright application. Even without the license, authors have limited protection the moment they write their stories.
Most unpublished authors do not need to worry about applying for a copyright as a publisher usually handles the filing upon its contract with the writer. Copyright information varies from country to country. Even though publishers often handle the process of filing for a copyright, an author will want to be familiar with the copyright process for his or her country.
Copyright Protection Extends to Films
In order to make a movie based on a film, a movie company must option the media rights. If an author hopes to see his or her book turned into a film, he or she may want to look for a literary agent with experience in media representation. Preditors and Editors maintains a list of literary agents for authors in need of representation. Tolkien fans can read the press release on the lawsuit at Reuters.
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