Christopher Tolkien at it again....

[davem]

For anyone who's still interested:

In J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings, Rivendell provides a "Middle-earth" refuge for hobbits fleeing their enemy, the Ringwraiths.

Until recently, Bragg Creek, west of Calgary, also had a Rivendell, a summer refuge for kids from the city.

But the Bragg Creek Community Association was forced to rename the day camp after lawyers for Tolkien's estate decided it didn't like the use of the trademarked name.

The U.K.-based lawyers sent the community association a cease and desist letter.

"While our clients do not believe that you intended to infringe their intellectual property rights, you will understand that they have an obligation to protect these valuable rights and carefully to preserve the integrity of the Tolkien works," the letter reads.

Community program director Peggy Rupert said the estate's objection surprised her.

"It was just kind of funny," she said. "I actually find it kind of amusing. I've kept the letter as a memento." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...kids-camp.html

In an e-mail response to the Herald Tuesday, Maier countered the proliferation of Internet sites that accuse the Tolkien Estate of being a tad on the litigious side. "It is incorrect to say that the Tolkien Estate is litigious, as it is very rarely involved in court proceedings," he wrote.

"The Tolkien Estate only pursues legal action in the very rare cases of parties who, for whatever reason, are determined to deny the Estate's entitlement to protect its property." http://www.calgaryherald.com/technol...252/story.html

"It is incorrect to say that the Tolkien Estate is litigious, as it is very rarely involved in court proceedings," is good - it is true that the Estate is 'very rarely involved in court proceedings' - but it does seem to threaten to instigate them rather a lot.

Still, thank goodness a non profit organisation has been stopped from encouraging kids to play at Elves & Hobbits.