Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien receives $80 million from Warner Brothers

When Warner Brothers bought the rights to make the Lord of the Rings film series they also gained the rights to make “tangible” merchandise related to the work.

This allowed them to create action figures, t-shirts, and so on featuring material from Tolkien’s oeuvre. Video games, however, were a bridge too far, and prompted a lawsuit by Tolkien’s estate.

They were particularly enraged by Warner Brothers’ gambling games that used Lord of the Rings imagery. Tolkien’s family claimed this use “[caused] irreparable harm to Tolkien’s legacy and reputation and the valuable goodwill generated by his works.”