Licensing rights for media involving the Lord of the Rings franchise are about to be sold to the highest bidder, according to a report from Variety. The Saul Zeantz Company, which has owned the rights to all things Middle Earth for a while now, is about to sell the gaming, event, and merchandising rights to the ever-popular Tolkein series. This will be the first time in 50 years that interested parties will be able to vie to acquire the rights, with Amazon reported to be willing to offer the most money for them.

This news has also led to the takedown of a Lord of the Rings-focused modpack for Total War titled Rise of Mordor. WB, who as of right now, still owns the rights to make games based on the LOTR franchise, has copyright claimed the mod, leading to the removal of it from ModDB. Rise of Mordor had been in the works since at least 2018, and was being worked on by a team of fans who wanted to create both a multiplayer and campaign focused on the series. The mod was also going to have custom animations for trolls, wargs, and other LOTR creatures, and a full recreation of a lore-accurate map of Middle Earth.

Following the takedown notice from Warner Bros., the team behind the mod are going to rebrand their concept into something that doesn't have a license, and they're currently asking fans what they'd like to see instead.

Source

 

[Xzi]

A FromSoft LotR game would obviously be a dream, even despite already getting a GRRM FromSoft game soon. More likely one of the big players buys the rights, Sony or Microsoft. They could still make a good game depending on which in-house studio they use to develop it, I suppose.

 

[Costello]

A FromSoft LotR game would obviously be a dream, even despite already getting a GRRM FromSoft game soon. More likely one of the big players buys the rights, Sony or Microsoft. They could still make a good game depending on which in-house studio they use to develop it, I suppose.

from the guys who made Uncharted, could be epic

 

[Deleted member 194275]

Tolkien is dead for a while now. I wonder if the rights should expire anytime soon.

(If it do expire in a single western world country, that's enough for mods and fan projects to survive without any big corp harassment)

 

[LoggerMan]

I'll bid $20 for them. I think I still remember how to use RPG Maker.

 

[eriol33]

I am more afraid that disney will acquire the rights

 

[Seriel]

Tolkien is dead for a while now. I wonder if the rights should expire anytime soon.

(If it do expire in a single western world country, that's enough for mods and fan projects to survive without any big corp harassment)

Supposedly 2024 for Canada and a handful other countries, check under 50 years heading on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_in_public_domain

This doesn't cover all of it though and there may be other factors by then, but that's how it currently stands

 

[Flame]

I am more afraid that disney will acquire the rights

One company to rule them all !

 

[Deleted member 532471]

I'll buy it and make a pico 8 LOTR checkers

 

[Veho]

One company to rule them all !

And in contracts bind them.

 

[diggeloid]

I just looked it up, and in the UK at least, copyright protections expire 50 years after the author's death. For Tolkien that'd be 2024. I wonder how that would work, since US laws are something like 95 years after death, meaning it would be in the public domain in the UK, but not the US.

Could you get away with selling a Hobbit hentai dating sim in the UK in 2 years and not get sued? Where's that lawyer when you need him?

 

[chrisrlink]

from the guys who made Uncharted, could be epic

they should just hand over the rights to a centeralized group of modders for LOTR games to give the old "screw you" to WB best aquasition and biggest F.U of 2022

 

[Valwinz]

after the disgusting Amazon series the right will be super cheap

 

[Viri]

I thought Amazon bought the rights, after showing a trailer for that god awful series? And here I thought only Netflix and Disney could destroy IPs?

 

[FAST6191]

I thought Amazon bought the rights, after showing a trailer for that god awful series? And here I thought only Netflix and Disney could destroy IPs?

There is a difference between buying rights and getting rights to make a show set in a universe with a given list of properties (The main three books plus hobbit, plus letters. The Silmarillion potentially being its own kettle of fish for while he wrote it then his son was the one to put it together with it being published after JRR's death -- different works that introduce different ideas can trouble things, public domain having this happen from time to time where characters gained traits/abilities in later books, though in general pop culture there is a reason why in Avengers they did not mention word one about the speedy guy and scarlet witch being Magneto's, as in xmen, children in the comics but as they were associated more in said comics with Avengers you got that allowed).
Similar idea to EA being the only one that could make Star Wars computer games for a while but did not own Star Wars, or similar things with James Bond that mean we have never actually seen an official rerelease of goldeneye for the N64 as Nintendo/Rare/Microsoft lost the ability.

As far as franchise ruining then any number of companies have pulled that off over the years. Amazon also have some skeletons in their closet as it were -- looking at you Good Omens.

 

[pustal]

after the disgusting Amazon series the right will be super cheap

Disgusting? It hasn't even came out yet. Talk about prejudice...

 

[KennyAtom]

Disgusting? It hasn't even came out yet. Talk about prejudice...

knowing Amazon's track record, not exactly a prejudice if I do say so myself.

Invincible was the only good Amazon series so far.

 

[pustal]

knowing Amazon's track record, not exactly a prejudice if I do say so myself.

Invincible was the only good Amazon series so far.

What track record? The Expanse, Goliath, The Man in the High Castle, The Boys... All great series, HBO quality series even. The only thing I think there is to point out is that they pull the plug way too soon.

 

[Valwinz]

Disgusting? It hasn't even came out yet. Talk about prejudice...

if i see that fat dwarf beardless queen 1 more time in my timeline with her sausage fingers and her shave face im deleting my twitter

 

[pustal]

if i see that fat dwarf beardless queen 1 more time in my timeline with her sausage fingers and her shave face im deleting my twitter

All adaptions where dwarf women with the exception of LorR Online have depicted some dwarf women without beards. They are usually depicted as fat as well, like the men, given their eagerness for big feasts that lasted for days. I take you'll agree with Christopher that Peter Jackson's adaptations are pretty disgusting as well then. I'd tend not to judge a book by its cover. There isn't even a trailer out to create expectations, only a teaser.