Charles Coleman, Director at specialist litigation advocates, Gough Law, has successfully obtained an Order in litigation concerning the estate of JRR Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series.
 
The Isle of Man Court made the Order following a Letter of Request issued by the US Court which is hearing proceedings  between the Trustees of the Estate of JRR Tolkien and Warner Bros. & Others concerning image rights for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
 
The litigation, valued at eighty million dollars, is being heard before the Court in California; however certain evidence and documents relating to those proceedings were held in the Isle of Man.  Following an application made by Gough Law Director Charles Coleman on behalf of the Tolkien Estate, His Worship the High Bailiff Mr Needham made an Order for the disclosure of the documents for use in the US proceedings.
 
The ongoing dispute, which has its origins in a 1969 deal between United Artists and the Trustees of the Estate of JRR Tolkien, centres upon the usage rights granted to Warner Brothers in its promotion of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and exposure of the Hobbit films.
 
In 2012, the Trustees of the Estate of JRR Tolkein and book publisher Harper Collins launched an $80 million lawsuit which claimed that Warner Bros. and Saul Zaentz Co. had breached terms of contract by making ‘intangible’ digital exploitations of the brand in media such as slot machines and video games, allegedly breaching in the process an agreement which entitles the studios to create ‘tangible’ merchandise. Proceedings continue to unfold, with implications that now span Hollywood and the Isle of Man.

Photo - Charles Coleman.