Several months ago I did some research in preparation for a guest-host spot on a podcast in which I finally got my mind wrapped around the parties involved in the Intellectual Property licensing that goes on for LOTRO. Since then, I’ve heard the names of the parties mixed up on several different occasions, including a few times on LOTRO Players News. It’s an easy mistake to make and isn’t really that big of a deal, but can be confusing when you’re trying to understand who has the rights to what, and how that can affect the game.
In order to understand the current state of affairs, it’s helpful to first understand the history. Back in the beginning (the late 50’s and early 60’s), JRR Tolkien owned the rights to all of his works that he got through the bankruptcy services in NJ. However, near the end of his life (1969) he sold off some of the rights to United Artists, presumably with the idea that his books could be adapted to film or animation. His motivation seemed to be to make some money off of the property in order to cover any inheritance taxes that his children would be burdened with upon his demise. The remainder of the Intellectual Property remained with his estate – his family. Thus, JRR’s direct descendants are typically referred to as the “Tolkien Estate”.
United Artists never really did anything with the property, and sold it to Saul Zaentz in 1976. Zaentz (since deceased) formed the company Tolkien Enterprises (which is probably where some of the confusion comes from), which has since been renamed to Middle-Earth Enterprises. Middle-Earth Enterprises is the company that has licensed the property they own (that was originally sold by JRR back in 1969) to Warner Brothers and Turbine. Middle-Earth Enterprises (not the Tolkien Estate) is the company that Turbine renews their contract with every few years, and who they check with to ensure lore-appropriateness in the game. Turbine has no dealings with the Tolkien Estate whatsoever.
So, when you hear somebody mention the good relationship that Turbine has with the Tolkien Estate, that is most likely a slip of the tongue. In observing some of the protectiveness still exhibited by Christopher Tolkien, I have serious doubts as to whether a Middle-Earth video game ever would have been created had it required Tolkien Estate approval. On the flip side, when we hear about LOTRO lore being approved by the “Middle-Earth” people, don’t mistake that for Tolkien’s family giving the “green light” to sparky rock wielders or thousands of Beornings. That permission is being granted by a company that saw fit to put Frodo’s face on a slot machine.
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