Lawsuit by Tolkien Estate may halt The Hobbit

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by davem

Copyright is now 'The Tolkien Trust' rather than 'JRR Tolkien' (some have suspected that's the real reason for the 300-400 changes made to LotR for the 50th anniversary edition...,not that I would indulge in such cynicism ...but ), so it may not expire 70 yrs after Tolkien's death - or at all.

It still has to be measured as from when the author died. Their only hope is that more changes are made to Copyright Law to extend the term again ... maybe to 95 years or so.

I think "The Tolkien Trust" was established for tax minimisation purposes. They can't make minor changes to a work (no matter how many changes there are) and then hope for an extension in copyright on that basis.

On the other hand ... all the posthumously released works - The Silmarillion, HoME, Unfinished Tales, Sigurd and Gudrun, Children of Hurin ... well, those were all substantially edited by Christopher Tolkien, so his contribution counts for copyright purposes.

Ah ... I need a drink after writing all that. A pint and a chat with JRRT would be very welcome right now! If only...